Jane Doe

Writing English 101

Prof.: Marie-Thérèse Blanc

10 October 2011

[1 = summary of thesis] The Ironies of Marriage in [2 = author] Kate Chopin’s [3

= title] “The Story of an Hour”

[Mention of author and story’s title:] In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an

Hour,” [VERY brief summary:] Louise Mallard, a young married woman, is

mistakenly told that her loving husband died in a train accident. In the space of an

hour, she feels relief at the news, but when her husband returns, she dies of shock

and disappointment. [Thesis:] Through the character of Louise Mallard,

Chopin reveals the oppression that 19th-century women felt in their marriages.

More precisely, [Present the essay’s 3 claims--ideally while naming the

techniques or elements of fiction used:] (1) the sensual imagery describing the

world outside Louise Mallard’s bedroom window, the (2) setting and strategic

positioning of secondary characters within the house, and (3) the irony of the story

suggest that marriage for 19th-century women was not the fairy tale it appeared to

be.

[Topic sentence—matches claim 1 above, in different words:] The imagery

used by Kate Chopin in “The Story of an Hour” creates a contrast between

marriage and freedom. When Louise Mallard hears about her husband’s death, she

locks herself up in her room. There, she looks outside the window and notices

signs of the life that are absent from her marriage. The trees are [Textual evidence

—quotes:] “aquiver.” Spring brings about the “delicious breath of rain,” as well

as a “distant song” and the “twittering” of sparrows (12). [Explanation of quotes’

relevance:] Outside the protagonist’s window lie images of life and joy. As she

notices this, Louise is placed in the position of a prisoner in her own house.

[Summary of point made above:] Marriage, in other words, is compared to a jail

cell in this story. Life exists only outside the married woman’s household.

[Transition into next paragraph:] Also, in Louise Mallard’s case, she is kept in

her place by two benevolent jailers.

[Transition + topic sentence 2—matches claim 2 in the intro., in different

words:] Indeed, Louise Mallard’s sister Josephine and family friend Richards are

relevant characters in “The Story of an Hour” who enhance the story’s setting and

the story’s theme. Their role is to keep the protagonist within the house. Although

they are both minor characters whose goal is to take care of Louise, both characters

are strategically positioned inside the house by the author. Josephine guards

Louise’s bedroom. As Louise looks outside and enjoys her new freedom,

Josephine kneels [Textual evidence—quotes:] “before the closed door with her

lips to the keyhole” (13). Meanwhile, Richards stands at the bottom of the
staircase, close enough to the front door to “screen” Brently Mallard “from the

view of his wife” (14). [Explanation of quotes’ relevance:] What suddenly

becomes clear to the reader is that had Brently Mallard died, his wife Louise would

have never been able to enjoy freedom because both Josephine and Richards would

have kept her a prisoner in her condition as fragile woman. [Summary of the

points made above:] Josephine kneeling at the door represents 19th-century

women’s acceptance that a woman should never be left alone. Richards’ presence

near the door also implies that a woman of the 19th century was always better off

with a man who locked her in and looked after her. [Transition into the next

paragraph:] But Louise’s lack of freedom in her own house is only one of the

story’s ironies.

[Topic sentence—matches claim 3 in the intro, in different words:] +

[Transitional words:] In the end, the largest irony of “The Story of an Hour” is

that a woman is pleased to hear about her husband’s death and dies of

disappointment when it turns out that he is alive. Traditionally, marriage is seen as

a positive event, and Kate Chopin writes that Brently Mallard is a gentle husband

who never looked at his wife [Textual evidence—quotes:] “save with love” (13).

Marriage is attacked in this story, not Louise’s husband. Marriage is presented as a

battle of wills that both “men and women believe they have a right to impose”

upon each other (13). [Explanation of quotes’ relevance:] Louise’s death when
her husband returns shows how unhappy she is to be married. The biggest irony

arrives when doctors declare her dead “of joy” (14). Of course, the readers

understand that disappointment and hopelessness kill Louise, not joy, but her

doctors are simply ignorant of what a woman may feel. [Transition into next

paragraph:] Thus, with irony, Chopin suggests that the only real freedom a 19th-

century woman could hope for was in death.

[Conclusion—restatement of thesis:] Nineteenth-century women’s

oppression is shown in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” [restatement of 3

claims in same order and in different words:] (1) by the contrast in imagery

between freedom outside the household and the “jail” of marriage, (2) by the

physical over-protectiveness of Josephine and Richards, and (3) by the story’s

dramatic and final irony. [OPTIONAL: Ending and opening up of subject--

generalities:] Today’s women are free to choose. They may marry and then

divorce their husbands. They may remain single. They may even choose a career.

In the 19th century, however, women lacked the freedom to choose. As a result,

many women were as powerless as Louise Mallard. Their only power lay in death.