Story Of an Hour: Literary Theories
Submitted by Lhara Tamayo, 10-Unity
Formalist
Formalism literary theory focuses on the
form, story structure, symbolism, and
theme of the text. It also prompts readers
to judge the artistic merit of literature by
examining its formal elements, like
language and technical skill.
The structure of “The Story Of an Hour,”
is notable because it's a short story. With
heavy dramatic themes of altering
changes in a brief amount of time. The
title itself is symbolic, because it basically
sums up what the story is about, short
fleeting freedom in an hour.
The story of an hour is a good example of
Realism. This is where literature is based
on “real” everyday life. It is a unique
genre that looks at real life and
situations. It even explores real dialects
of people. In the story you’ll find
characters that are faced with genuine
jobs and problems. "The Story of an
Hour" shows ideal realism because it
depicts how some married women felt
during the 1890s about married life.
Feminist
Feminist is often linked with
patriarchal prejudism which
influences the literary canon. In
every domain in literature the
women are marginalized. In the
“Story Of an Hour,” the line “Free!
Body and soul free!” was a repeated
phrase said by Louise as she believes
that her husband has passed. This
hinted that Louise was oppressed
through her unhappy marriage with
her husband and freedom for her
was approaching. Although Louise
admits that she loves her husband,
the restraining nature of Louise's
marriage was foreshadowed. We can
infer that most women in marriages
were institutions that put
enthrallment upon women, treating
them as possessions for their
husbands. Which is a major evidence
that feminism was involved.
Marxist
Marxist is the belief that
literature reflects class
struggles and materialism. It
prioritizes the economic
status of the characters,
oppression based on wealth
or class conflicts.
If we examine Mrs. Louise's
oppression in the story, the
socioeconomic structure she
experienced is patriarchy.
Marxist feminists have taken
the notion of patriarchy in
an attempt to reform Marxist
theory so that it can better
account for women's
subordination as well as
many forms of class
exploitation. Mrs. Louise
conflict is not simply an
individual issue but this is
more on a bigger part of class
struggles and oppression of
levels.
Readers Response Theory
This believes that a reader's
interaction with the text gives the text
its meaning.
This story has clearly proved to my
perspective that efficient marriage
only occurs if both people are truly in
love and no one has to partake in the
dominant role. The story does say that
she sometimes loved her husband but
it was more often that she did not love
him because of the freedom she felt
was taken away from her.
I believe many women marry for the
wrong reasons. Although, I may not
relate to the story because I am not
even married yet or have plans to be, I
think it’s crucial to understand that
you get into marriage not because you
want to, not because you need to or
because someone tells you to.