The Story of an Hour Final Copy Essay examples

Submitted By Amy-Chovanec
Words: 1116
Pages: 5
Open Document
Amy Chovanec
Mrs. Ermis
English 1302.N06
15 February 2015
Louise Mallard: Estranged Housewife of “The Story of an Hour”
“The Story of an Hour” author Kate Chopin declares war against the idea of the happy wife. Within the pages of the short story, Chopin unravels a plot of pure stupor, only to have the happiness quickly terminated. Accurately portraying Mrs. Louise Mallard, the protagonist, Kate Chopin uses one point of view, that of an omniscient third person narrator, so that she may paint the perfect portrait. As the story unfurls, Chopin’s character portrait of Louise Mallard renders a broken, sickly woman with a vendetta against the contented life of the wife. Kate Chopin, author of “The Story of an Hour,” uses her words to fashion a woman named Mrs. Louise Mallard as an estranged housewife with the will to fly from oppressors.
Kate Chopin, author of “The Story of an Hour,” creates a disturbed, sickly wife who is not content with her home life. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death,” (653). Within the opening line, the reader learns many things. Chopin asserts the fact that Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition, creating the attribute of a sickly wife. Chopin also presents the reader with a tidbit of information: that Mrs. Mallard’s husband is dead by a train accident. As the plot continues on, Chopin reveals to readers that Mrs. Mallard “did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.” (653). Chopin is suggesting that Louise Mallard may have some psychological problems since she cannot naturally process the information just presented to her. Instead of being “paralyzed,” Mrs. Mallard “wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.” (653) Kate Chopin could be portraying Mrs. Mallard as a deranged woman without the proper capability to acknowledge a tremendous loss, only with the ability to acknowledge her selfishness of the presumed “abandonment.” Louise Mallard then walks up to her room, requesting for “no one [to] follow her.” (653). “There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach her soul.” (653) Through the portrait of the serene chair, Chopin creates a scene in which the reader can assume that Louise has received much more comfort from the armchair than that of her late husband. Louise Mallard is not grieving normally, which can be assumed through the calm demeanor she presents, and eventually the joy, that she portrays while sitting in her chair. 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. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.” (653). Only a few sentences later, we learn what Louise was feeling. “When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said if over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’” (654). Mrs. Mallard remains this happy throughout the story, even when her sister Josephine assumes she is distraught. It is not until Mr. Brently Mallard “enter[s], a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella,” (654) that her stupor dissipates. Following the entrance of Brently, Josephine, Louise’s sister, has a “piercing cry” (654), and Richards, Brently Mallard’s best friend, tries to shield Brently from Louise, but to no avail. “When the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills.” (654).
“The Story of an Hour” author Kate Chopin opens her story with the omniscient third person narrator acknowledging “[…] Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble […]” (653). The acknowledgement of Louise’s sickness creates the
Show More

Related Documents: The Story of an Hour Final Copy Essay examples

Examples Of Non Western Literature

218, 12:20 – 1:35 Instructor: Melissa Freitas Office: Burnell common area Office hours: M-W-F, 8:00 – 9:00 and by appointment Email: m1freitas@bridgew.edu Course Description In western cultural narratives, the Caribbean islands are portrayed as a sun-soaked, idyllic place where pleasure, luxury, and abundance are the norms of daily existence; however, history and literature offers us a more complicated story. Students will begin the semester by establishing a foundational knowledge of colonial…

Words 2694 - Pages 11

The Dead Living And Dead

created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground.…

Words 3137 - Pages 13

Examples Of Course Syllabus

Syllabus Course Number/Section/Name: MGT 4336 Prerequisites (if any): MGT 3330, Senior standing Professor: Dr. Jonathan Shaffer Class Days/Times/Location or Other Format: Online Office Location: Classroom Center 213M Office Hours: All office hours are by appointment. However, I am usually in my office from 9am to 5pm each day. Feel free to stop by or call my office anytime to confirm that I am there. Office Phone: 806-651-2489 E-Mail: jshaffer@wtamu.edu Terms of Use A student's…

Words 4224 - Pages 17

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and Small Home-based Business Essay

Plagiarism Story Steven was almost done with his final semester of college. Three more weeks and he would finally have that diploma in his hand. It had been a difficult journey. He had gone back to school almost four years ago. He had started college right out of high school, but quit after his first year so he could work full-time. Five years later, he decided he needed to finish his degree. Steven was not getting anywhere in his career and knew he needed to make some sacrifices; he needed to buckle…

Words 882 - Pages 4

Personal Narrative: Drum Major

church. All of these accomplishments and experiences did not, however, sufficiently prepare me for being drum major. Being a drum major was an entirely different story. Being drum major meant I was responsible for the band’s success...or failure. Being drum major meant showing up an hour early to every rehearsal and staying an hour after everyone had gone home for the night. Being drum major meant developing a close relationship with the directors. Being drum major meant being the ambassador of…

Words 724 - Pages 3

Naivety in the Kitchen Essay

truffles into his fridge. Later that day, in his wife Liz’s ob-gyn hospital room, the doctors announce that his wife will have to give birth that very day in order to avoid any type of complications from Liz’s potentially fatal preeclampsia. Within the hour, his second daughter, Aubrey was born. Dan realized that he couldn’t leave his wife and newborn child to be a part of the veritable feast of one of the world’s finest delicacies, but upon his wife’s insistence, he eagerly rushed off to his kitchen…

Words 634 - Pages 3

Essay Bright Felon by Kazim Ali

Emily Stern Annotation G4 Bright Felon by Kazim Ali My used copy of Bright Felon by Kazim Ali arrived in a menacingly formal-seeming plastic library casing that seemed to crackle with such a vehement promise of drudgery and boredom that I distanced myself from opening it until now, my final hour of grad school. It was fortunate that I got over it because underneath its antiquated exterior was one of the finest books that I’ve read over the last two years. Poetic fragments are at once…

Words 585 - Pages 3

Junior Research Paper

Literature(Second to Third Quarter) | POINT TOTALS: The paper itself is worth 200 points; the components of the process are worth 120 points. TOPIC: Much of third quarter will be devoted to learning about the process of researching and preparing a final research paper. You will first choose and read a book from the history of American Literature that has been restricted or banned. Steps: 1. Read the book over your Christmas break. 2. Research the controversy surrounding the book, that…

Words 2186 - Pages 9

Bartleby The Scrivener Freedom Analysis

The Many Facets of Freedom What compels men to fight? Why do millions of people lay down their lives? What idea could resonate so deeply in human beings that it becomes the final word on their dying lips? Freedom. Often humanity’s deepest desire, the tantalizing idea of being free inspires men; some passionately hurl themselves into revolutionary battles while others speak, paint, or write to honor their cause. As such a powerful and unifying force, the idea of being free is an inexhaustible universal…

Words 1314 - Pages 6

Mahar Arar Essay

Mahar Arar was the result of neglect and a false justification of the greater good. It is a story that shows us the power of fear and a government’s choice to uphold rights in the name of “freedom”. Hopefully by discussing the events of Mahar Arar’s imprisonment and torture, citizens and governments alike can revaluate the modern media outlets and never again let something like this be excused. Mahar's story begins in September 2002, on a family trip in Tunis, Tunisia. While there mahar gets an email…

Words 757 - Pages 4