Feminine Critical Review: The Story of an Hour



Feminine Critical Review: The Story of an Hour

Introduction

The story of an hour is one of the most powerful stories written by Kate Chopin (Chopin, 1894). The main character of the story is Louise Mallard, who was quite happy on her husband's death due to the freedom she got with the incident. Upon finding her husband alive, she dies immediately. From a female perspective, the reason of death of Mrs. Mallard is the loss of freedom.

About the Author

Kate Chopin is categorized as one of the most famous feminine authors of 20th century. Before Kate's husband died, she was spending her life as a conventional housewife. Her life was considerably altered with the tragedy of her life, her husband's death (American Literature.com, 2013). She began to write short stories and got fame mainly for her story, “The Awakening”. Some of her famous short stories include, “the story of an hour”, “regret”, “desiree's baby”, “the storm”, and “at the Canadian ball”.

Kate Chopin lived in the time, when American women had to behave well. The society had set very high standards for deciding about women virtues and purity. Due to the settings of society, women did not have the rights to express their feelings and sexual desires, as the men did. Also, they did not have rights to make their personal decisions independently.

Summary of the Story

The story is about a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard was a heart patient. Her sister Josephine and her husband's friend Richards came to her house to convey the distressing news about Mr. Mallard's death in a train accident. They tried to convey the news as gently as possible. Knowing about the husband's death, she acted in an unusual manner. She cried passionately, and then went to her ...