The Story Of An Hour Feminist Perspective
Much how waves in the ocean are pushed and pulled by the gravity of the moon, similar waves of feminism have been affected by men throughout history. Applying a Feminist Critical Perspective, Kate Chopin's short story, “The Story of an Hour,” refutes ideas of first wave feminism with diction and imagery, along with Mrs. Mallard’s symbolic reaction to her husband’s death and resurgence back into her life. To begin, diction within the story refutes assumed stereotypes of women during the first wave of feminism. Chopin writes that after Mrs. Mallard discovers her husband’s death “[s]he did not hear the story as many women have heard the same,” implying Mrs. Mallard goes against the grain of how women are expected to behave towards losing their
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Mallard’s symbolic epiphany to her husband’s death and return refutes characteristics and views of women during the first wave of feminism. For instance, after deep reflection, Mrs. Mallard ends her devastation. She chants to herself that she is “‘free, free, free!’” (10). Her happiness takes over her body, for she has been emancipated from men. During the first wave of feminism, women were expected to marry men because they are superior and more educated, but in Chopin’s story, Mrs. Mallard is shown to break from the shackles of marriage and dependence. Instead of having to live life in the backseat, always behind a man, she drinks an “elixir of life through [an] open window” ahead of her, symbolizing her newfound freedom by comparing it to an open window (16). Mrs. Mallard is also conveyed to be a person, her own person that can experience life to the fullest through all “those days ahead of her,” instead of being subject to wifehood for the rest of her life like most women at the time (18). Furthermore, feeling such joy, she prays for a long life free from a man, a wish that most women in the first wave of feminism would never dream of. The woman expected to be the damsel in distress, especially considering her heart condition, turns out to be her own savior. But in patriarchal society, a woman’s joy outside of a man is ephemeral. The idea is communicated when Mrs. Mallard’s husband returns, bringing her back to Earth and back to reality. Mrs. Mallard
Mallard’s symbolic epiphany to her husband’s death and return refutes characteristics and views of women during the first wave of feminism. For instance, after deep reflection, Mrs. Mallard ends her devastation. She chants to herself that she is “‘free, free, free!’” (10). Her happiness takes over her body, for she has been emancipated from men. During the first wave of feminism, women were expected to marry men because they are superior and more educated, but in Chopin’s story, Mrs. Mallard is shown to break from the shackles of marriage and dependence. Instead of having to live life in the backseat, always behind a man, she drinks an “elixir of life through [an] open window” ahead of her, symbolizing her newfound freedom by comparing it to an open window (16). Mrs. Mallard is also conveyed to be a person, her own person that can experience life to the fullest through all “those days ahead of her,” instead of being subject to wifehood for the rest of her life like most women at the time (18). Furthermore, feeling such joy, she prays for a long life free from a man, a wish that most women in the first wave of feminism would never dream of. The woman expected to be the damsel in distress, especially considering her heart condition, turns out to be her own savior. But in patriarchal society, a woman’s joy outside of a man is ephemeral. The idea is communicated when Mrs. Mallard’s husband returns, bringing her back to Earth and back to reality. Mrs. Mallard