60 Minutes of Freedom (The Story of an Hour Book Review)

📌Category: Books, Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour, Writers
📌Words: 1089
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 15 January 2022

In the short novelette ‘’Story of an hour’’ by Kate Chopin, The story follows the character, Louise Mallard, as she copes with the death of her husband. Josephine, Louise's sister, informs her of her husband's sad death in a railroad accident. The short story focuses on a woman’s desire for self-assertion. Kate Chopin portrays Mrs. Mallard as an older woman from the 80s who is open-minded about her future and love-life with the severity of her fragile heart. The setting of  “ Story of an Hour” is very limited. It's mostly contained within a single room, a stairwell, and a front door. This constraint demonstrates the vastness of literature. Kate Chopin tells a short narrative about a woman going through a midlife crisis using literary techniques such as imagery. This not only enriches the plot but also grows the minds of the readers, leaving us to our interpretations of the setting's impact. In "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin delves into the rich depiction of an older, befuddled widow to illustrate Mrs. Mallard's realization of independence through literary techniques such as figurative language, foreshadowing, and situational Irony.

Mrs. Mallard's realization of independence and desire for self-assertion is depicted through imagery by Kate Chopin. In the text it states,“The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves''(5). In this scene, Chopin depicts a wistful damped day as the reader gets a wave of nostalgia confronting the reminiscent of springtime. Chopin shows that Mrs. Mallard was ‘’one with nature’’ in terms of self-realization and open-mindedness with the idea that she’s found closure with her husband's death. Additionally, Chopin described Ms.Mallard so the reader can get a vivid depiction of the protagonist. Chopin wrote, “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (8). In this scene, Chopin characterizes Ms. Mallard as a middle-aged widow, who spoke 

with posh, self-assurance. Connotations of youth and vigor are shown in Mrs. Mallard's voice after she has decided to take control of her life instead of letting another man put his stamp on her. Thus, Chopin shows that an older woman who has felt loss can use literary techniques to tackle the obstacles in her life. She even hints she's experiencing a midlife crisis that is more than always wondering about the future. 

Kate Chopin uses the literary technique foreshadowing to convey her theme of symbolism. Foreshadowing is the idea that the events of the future are hinted at by details in the present. One major example of symbolism that drags on throughout the story is Ms. Mallard’s fragile heart. In the beginning of the story, the narrator tells us that Mrs.Mallard has been afflicted with heart trouble. According to the text it states,‘’Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death”(Chopin 1). In this scene, and the very first sentence of the story, Chopin confronts the vulnerability of women in the 80’s while expressing the theme of Mrs. Mallard’s frail heart. This foreshadowing helps readers see that Mallard’s fragile heart may have been the cause of her wanting out of her marriage. Her heart caused her to have mixed feelings. Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition reflects on how much she believes marriage has oppressed her. According to the novelette,“And yet she had loved him – sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being”(Chopin 15). Chopin shows the naked vulnerability of grief and a difficult comprehension of oppression in marriage. A part of Ms. Mallard felt trapped in a never ending relationship. 

After hearing the news of her husband’s passing, Ms. Mallard went through a toll of rapid emotion in just one hour. In the text it states, “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!”(Chopin 11). In this scene, Chopin further reveals that Mrs. Mallard's heart represents freedom. Chopin further depicts Mrs. Mallard as happy and relieved. This all in all seems unconventional but the idea of living life the way she wants to live felt refreshing. Kate set the scene, whereas it was acceptable not to feel guilty for wanting more out of your own life or even Mr. Mallard’s

death. 

Kate Chopin finally uses Situational Irony, really putting her mark on English literature. Situational irony occurs when an event occurs that is unexpected, but the event was predicted. According to the text,“There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name’’{•••}(Chopin 8). Chopin created a significant time in Mrs. Mallard’s life whereas her husband‘s death immediately has her thinking about her own life. This brings back up the midlife crisis referenced earlier. This is an example of a major situational irony because when someone dies we automatically think about who’s next, Including ourselves.  Chopin wrote, "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door—you will make yourself ill.”{•••} "Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window” (Chopin 15-16). In this scene, Mrs. Mallard finds closure. Mrs. Mallard felt open-minded at this moment. Ms. Mallard's unexpected resilience demonstrates situational irony. Nobody expected her to have an awakening in such a short period. on the last sentence of the short story, Chopin writes, ‘’{•••} When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills”. In this scene, Kate Chopin displays situational irony through the unexpected death of Mrs. Mallard.

Mrs. Mallard felt overwhelmed with joy when she saw her husband alive, too much joy for her frail heart to handle. Chopin ultimately shows the readers that a woman's heart is physically and emotionally sensitive. 

In Conclusion, Mrs. Mallard's realization of independence is illustrated in "The Story of an Hour". Kate Chopin uses literary methods such as figurative language, foreshadowing, and situational irony to show Mrs. Mallard's understanding of being able to make decisions for herself without her husband's bearing will. Chopin highlights the pressure of being able to make decisions in life and not waiting for someone to do it for you. A part of the protagonist felt that she had nothing to live for, until she realized that she no longer had to  live a certain life for someone else and that she’d finally be living for herself. This ultimately highlights Chopin’s theme of  self assertion in terms of how Ms. Mallard finally thought about what she wanted out of life. She felt that the burden of her husband freed her soul and body, emotionally and physically.

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