Literary Analysis: Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

This was a well-written narrative chronicling an hour in the life of a young woman in which she faced a plethora of emotions. Though the piece was written just prior to the last century, certain passions and social acceptance appeared to the reader as timeless rejoinders; some things never change in the realm of love. However, the unpredictable outcome of this story left the reader to search her own morals and make her own assumptions as to the foundation of the story's conclusion, regardless of the essence of time. (Eliot: 45)

The author led us through the young woman's thought processes by creating intimate scenarios that the reader could feel familiar. The initiation of health information regarding the young woman's heart affliction was an innocent warning to her fragility potential. Furthermore, while reserving judgment upon the woman's psyche, the author portrayed each emotional element as unceremoniously human. Written with a gentle matter-of-factness, the reader was led through this “hour” with little admonishment towards the unexpected conclusion. (Berkove: 152-158)

The young woman experienced the assumed death of her spouse by exuding grief, an appropriate and accepted emotion for the circumstance. Liquidly moving us from her grief into a state of suspended emotions, the author's implant of the proverbial “life goes on” was warmly descriptive. The renaissance of nature delicately filled our visual canvases as the author painted the dawning of a new day.

There are many points in the story that show Mrs. Mallard was an unhappy woman. The fact that Brently Mallard's name was leading the list of fatalities, suggests that he was a prominent member of his community. This also could mean that he was somewhat rich. I suspect that they were married for the wrong reasons. The story states clearly that “often she had not”, loved her husband. Clues of this broken relationship are given early on when the author says, “she went away to her room alone.” (Nadell: 652-654) The statement implies that Mr. and Mrs. Mallard did not share a room together, which may also explain why there are no children in the story. If that's not the case, the room may be called hers to show that she spends a lot of time there. I think that would also be reasonable since she would probably spend a lot of time thinking and getting away from her husband whom she didn't always ...