Analysis Of The Story Of An Hour

Analysis Of The Story Of An HourExploring the plot social organization of Kate Chopin s short story The Story of an Hour, analyzing how this sets the scene for the events to unfold, and then builds the tensity beforehand the climax which lays bare disturbing insights into the protagonist s character. Fin aloney, in that location is rapidly falling tension briefly set surface before the resolution. All these insights shed light on the cultural norms from when the story was pen in the late nineteenth century.In the first paragraph, we the readers are introduced to Mrs. mallard who was afflicted with a nubble trouble(261). Her illness is described as a heart trouble indicating that it could be secondary to some other occupation of a deeper nature. We submit our first suspicion that Mrs. mallard may have an incapacity in how she loves. When Mrs. mallard is told of her husband s death, her sister who told her, in broken sentences veiled hints that revealed in half concealing (261 ) as if Mrs. mallard can only be told indirectly. Richard has checked and rechecked the information that Mr. mallard has been killed, non just an ordinary accident, but a railroad disaster (261).Mrs. Mallard is at present a widow according to the cultural norms of the time, unlike iodine and married wo hands she could legitimately be independent, have her own source of income, as well as have sympathy from all those around her. good-hearteda of becoming paralyzed (261), frozen, silent, and not accepting what she is being told, she wept at once, with sudden, wild, giving up (261). Then she goes but to her room and She would have no one pass her (261). At that time it was con sidered dangerous for women even to go to their rooms alone as doing so might encourage independent thought.Chopin now gives us a picture of the freedom inherent in widowhood. First of all is the armchair, a direct metaphor to widowhood itself. It is roomy (261), expansive, and unrestricted, unlike the na rrow unsympathetic world in which the majority of women then lived. Furthermore, the armchair faces the open window (261) so the reader is led to the vision of freedom, which would be thrilling to the readers of the time.The plot moves into ascending action and complication, beginning with a description of Mrs. Mallard as a normal cleaning woman of the time young, fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength (261). She appears to have control everywhere her feelings but has a dull stare in her eyes (261) and not a discern of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought (262). right off we are wondering if Mrs. Mallard is mentally unstable and Chopin begs the question Is Mrs. Mallard able to handle the complex and conflicting emotions brought on by her overbold state of widowhood. Chopin further increases the tension by indicating that Mrs. Mallard is now in the grip of something monstrous that threatens to overwhelm her. At first, she does not recognize it as it was too subtle and elusive to name (262), and only feels it creeping out of the sky (262), soon she is fighting it back powerless(262) and with ever increasing tension. She becomes so consumed with the energy of the thing that she becomes abandoned (262). Now she is able to name the devil it is freedom and she whispers a word over and over free, free, free (262).At this turn on we attend Mrs. Mallard change completely from someone compliant to a woman seemingly in charge of her life instead opposed to how women were supposed to behave in the late nineteenth century. She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous merriment that held her (262), she is now with a clear and exalted perception (262) dismissing the suggestion as trivial (262). This would be shocking to the readers of the time when it was unheard of for a woman to be dissatisfied about marriage and to be happy over her husband s death.Mrs. Mallard is pictured as a caged shucks trapped in an unhappy marriage, even her name is an actual bird. The birds after-school(prenominal) the window are truly free in their simple lives. As Chopin moves up the tension towards the climax, this idea is further reinforced as we see Mrs. Mallard from being subsumed by the monster overtaking her, striving to do the dishes it back(262) as if she is flapping her locomote to nothing. When she has perfectly given freedom, she opened and blossom her arms out (262) as if they are now strong wings with which she is ready to fly out of the open window.Interestingly, Chopin states that it is both men and women who put down their will on others. This can be understood as signification that while Chopin wants to challenge then present norms on marriage. She is suggesting that both women and men need to understand each other more and not wear their marriage down completely.Mrs. Mallard however, emphatically believes it s a abomination to impose one s will on other s. At this point in the story we begin to question her motives and whether Mrs. Mallard is committing some kind of crime. Has she gone too far in her glorification of freedom? Is she not now imposing her will on others and being unkind towards them? She dismisses an picayune thought that she had only loved her husband .She has no regrets whatever that she has lost his love and care. Our sympathies now turn against her as we see her situated her own selfish ambitions.The climax of the story comes at the point that Mrs. Mallard has rejected love. She ignores her poor sister who is worried at the other side of the door. Mrs. Mallard stands at the open window drinking in a very elixir of life (262) but we know by now that it is no such thing.Mr. Mallard arrives home, not dead, but very more than alive. Having not heard of the accident and it is now just an ordinary accident, not the disaster as previously described. We are shown in this scene of falling action and given descriptions of her husband entering the house. She had died of heart disease of gladden that kills (263). The others in the house, including the doctors believe Mrs. Mallard is so overcome with joy at seeing her husband alive that it killed her.Chopin s questions and challenges women s lack of freedom, particularly within marriage. She will not go so far as to reject love. Therefore, she gives up on Mrs. Mallard who suffer from a heart disease in pursuit of her own selfish goals.