RESEARCH PAPER

Research Paper

Research Paper

“The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin has said to be ahead of her time through her writings (Rosenblum). She composed most of her works in the direction of the late 1800s. However, because her way of thing was more advanced in the way she accepted very much in feministic values and the way she depicted the pointless repressive ways of life of marriage, her works were not generally acknowledged until the end of the twentieth century. She summarizes the way of life of the roles of the wife throughout the nineteenth century in “The Story of an Hour” in progressive and radical themes that predicted the later views of the twentieth century. Kate Chopin's “The article of an Hour” has numerous different utilises of symbolism, imagery, and ironic aspects that help introduce the feminine protagonist to her era (Skaggs) (“The article of an Hour”).

Throughout “The article of an Hour”, Kate Chopin values a great deal of symbolism. When the heroine, Louise Mallard, learns of her husband's death, she goes into her room and examines out an open window. This symbolizes her looking out up on a clear path that lays ahead, a new life, and the detail that it is open displays that not anything is standing in her way (“Critical Analysis of 'The article of an Hour'”). Through the window Louise remarks the environment “aquiver with the new jump life” (Chopin). The “new jump life” is mentioning to the rebirth of her own life that her husband's presumed death has brought and her new discovered flexibility from the stifled wedding ceremony (“Critical investigation of 'The article of an Hour'”). The detail that it is jump displays the reawakening of her soul and the winter is in the past and so is her marriage. Also, at the window, she notices the patches of clear azure atmosphere that is glowing through gray clouds. The atmosphere comprises her new life without the dependency of a man and the clouds are her marriage (Rosenblum). When Chopin describes Louise's appearance, she also shows symbolism towards her fresh new start of a life by saying she is a young woman (“Critical Analysis of 'The Story of an Hour'”). The stairs also provide a form of symbolism for when she ascends them it shows her freedom elevating but when she descends them, it signifies her freedom shifting to a downfall and foreshadows the events that are about to come. Also, when Chopin talks about the confining house, it shows a sense of domesticity (Rosenblum). As Chopin says “when she abandons herself”, Louise has abandoned her previous repression and former life. Another strong use of symbolism is when Chopin talks about something “too subtle and elusive to name” that is coming out of the sky towards Louise. At first, it scares her but then she embraces it and finds it relaxing. This represents realization she has when she discovers that sometimes death does not have to be a bad, mournful thing (“The ...