The Story of an Hour

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the short story, “The Story of an Hour” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on theme of the story and its relation with the feelings and emotions of the women of 19th century. The research also analyzes many aspects of the story and tries to gauge its effect on the 19th century women.

The Story of an Hour

Introduction

Kate Chopin, a female writer and essayist lived from 1850 to 1904. From 1894 onwards, she strived hard to become a well accepted author. “The story of an hour” is one of her most striking stories, about a wife and her strong individuality. This paper is to give a feminist reading of her short story. “The story of an hour”, written on April 19, 1894, is in the American Literary canon today. To emphasize its significance, one should mention the publication of this short story in one of the early issues of the Vogue.

Discussion and Analysis

In her stories, Chopin dared to write about women, finding their personal freedom and choosing their own ways of liberation very uncommon fiction in that period of time or as the “first modern female literary discourse in America. Whereas on the one hand, the public rights of women were slowly being gained (e.g. the vote, education, rights to their children and their own property), on the other hand private needs of women were not issues so far yet. Though she never took part in nay feminist movement, Kate Chopin can be seen as a pre-feminist writer and her work can be treated as a feminist statement (Marlene, 73).

The story of an Hour illuminates a woman, who, after her husband's sudden death, found herself freed, achieved autonomy, and started to develop self-determination at least for the duration of one hour, as the title proclaims. It can be seen as a description of a moment that shatters social complacency and gives birth to a woman's self desire and self recognition. Chopin offers readers both criticisms of what were an implicit vision of what could be, alternative words imagined if only through self-annihilation.

This short story is a great story in a small space, and with her specific use of language, Chopin brings significance to the reader with every single word. Though it is given her little information on the surface of the story, one obviously gets to know a lot about Mrs. Louise Mallard's life and with her as a representative, a lot about the experience of womanhood in Chopin's period of time (Jamil, 215). In the fourth paragraph of the story, which revolves around the period of time where Louise has just come in her room, is quite shocking. Everybody would suppose Louise to weep with distress and pain, but instead of this reaction she sits calmly down, stood there, facing an open window, on a comfortable, roomy armchair. The interested reader will already discover here that something is terribly wrong, since a word ...