Reading “The Story of an

Hour” by Kate Chopin

Prof. Louai
2023-2024
Discuss the following statements:
 Chopin’s Legacy
Although Chopin was criticized during her lifetime, she eventually became recognized as a leading
early feminist writer. Her work was rediscovered during the 1970s, when scholars evaluated her
work from a feminist perspective, noting Chopin's characters' resistance to patriarchal structures.

Chopin is also occasionally categorized alongside Emily Dickinson and Louisa May Alcott, who
also wrote complex stories of women attempting to achieve fulfillment and self-understanding
while pushing back against societal expectations. These characterizations of women who sought
independence were uncommon at the time and thus represented a new frontier of women's
writing.

Today, Chopin's work—particularly The Awakening—is frequently taught in American literature

classes. The Awakening was also loosely adapted into a 1991 film called Grand Isle. In 1999, a
documentary called Kate Chopin: A Reawakening told the story of Chopin's life and work.
Chopin herself been featured less frequently in mainstream culture than other authors of her era,
but her influence on the history of literature is undeniable. Her groundbreaking work paved the
way for future feminist authors to explore topics of women's selfhood, oppression, and inner lives.
 Literary History

The Story of an Hour is a phenomenal American short story written by Kate

Chopin on April 19, 1894, and published in Vogue on December 1894. Initially, it
was written and first published under the title “The Dream of an Hour”. It was
reprinted in St. Louis Life on January 5, 1895.
“The Story of an Hour” was published in 1894 and is set around the same time. As
such, the story is set during the women’s suffrage movement that was gaining
traction in the United States in the late 19th century. At this point in history, people
widely believed that women were weaker and less competent than men, so most
women were limited to being housewives, mothers, or domestic servants.
But women’s rights activists at this time, who were called suffragists, believed that
women deserved the same rights as men (e.g., voting in political elections, owning
property, and freely participating in public life).
 Plot Structure

1. Exposition/Conflict: Mrs. Mallard is sickly and suffers from a weak heart. Her
sister, Josephine comforts her, concerned that the news she is about to hear will kill
her.
2. Rising Action: Josephine and Richards, a friend of Mr. Brently Mallard, gently
reveal that Mr. Mallard has been killed in a railroad disaster.
3. Climax: Mrs. Mallord, though grieving, realizes that she is now free from a
marriage in which she wasn't truly happy. So though she mourns the death of her
husband, secretly she's elated.
4. Falling Action: After Mrs. Mallard comes to the conclusion that she is now free to
live a happy life, she and Josephine walk down, just as Mr. Mallard, unharmed by
the tragic accident, comes through the door.
5. Resolution: Mrs. Mallard collapses, dead. The Doctor said "that she had died of
heart disease - of joy that kills." He thought she was so overjoyed to see him that she
died. In reality, she realized her "freedom" was never to be, and that killed her.
The setting of the story is Louise's home in the spring time. More so the story
takes place in Louise's bedroom. It would seem that in such a confined space
there would be no talk of freedom, but the window is Louise's way to see her
freedom.
 Tone and Mood

At first it seems that the story will carry a morbid tone,

with the news of the death of Louise's husband. This
tone is quickly changed when Louise enters her
bedroom. The atmosphere is a cheerful and hopeful.
She is not the grieving woman a reader would picture
her to be. She is hopeful and planning for the future.
With her out pour of happiness, the reader is able to
begin feeling hopeful for Louise's future.
 Characters
Louise Mallard
From the opening sentence alone, we learn a lot about Louise Mallard. Chopin writes, “Knowing that
Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible
the news of her husband’s death.”
From that statement alone, we know that she is married, has a heart condition, and is likely to react
strongly to bad news. We also know that the person who is sharing the bad news views Louise as delicate
and sensitive. Throughout the next few paragraphs, we also learn that Louise is a housewife, which
indicates that she would be part of the middle-to-upper class in the 1890s. Chopin also describes Louise’s
appearance as “young,” “fair, calm face,” with lines of “strength.” These characteristics are not purely
physical, but also bleed into her character throughout the story.
Louise’s personality is described as different from other women. While many women would be struck
with the news in disbelief, Louise cries with “wild abandonment”—which shows how powerful her
emotions are. Additionally, while other women would be content to mourn for longer, Louise quickly
transitions from grief to joy about her husband’s passing.
Ultimately, Chopin uses Louise’s character to show readers what a woman’s typical experience within
marriage was in the 1890s. She uses Louise to criticize the oppressive and repressive nature of marriage,
especially when Louise rejoices in her newfound freedom.
 Josephine
Josephine is Louise’s sister. We never hear of Josephine’s last name or whether she is
married or not. We do know that she has come with Richards, a friend of Brently’s,
to break the news of his death to her sister.
When Josephine tells Louise the bad news, she’s only able to tell Louise of Brently’s
death in “veiled hints,” rather than telling her outright. Readers can interpret this as
Josephine’s attempt at sparing Louise’s feelings. Josephine is especially worried
about her sister’s heart condition, which we see in greater detail later as she warns
Louise, “You will make yourself ill.” When Louise locks herself in her room,
Josephine is desperate to make sure her sister is okay and begs Louise to let her in.
Josephine is the key supporting character for Louise, helping her mourn, though she
never knows that Louise found new freedom from her husband’s supposed death.
But from Josephine’s actions and interactions with Louise, readers can accurately
surmise that she cares for her sister (even if she’s unaware of how miserable Louise
finds her life).
 Richards
Richards is another supporting character, though he is described as Brently’s friend, not
Louise’s friend. It is Richards who finds out about Brently Mallard’s supposed death while
at the newspaper office—he sees Brently’s name “leading the list of ‘killed.’” Richards’
main role in “The Story of an Hour” is to kick off the story’s plot.
Additionally, Richard’s presence at the newspaper office suggests he’s a writer, editor, or
otherwise employee of the newspaper (although Chopin leaves this to readers’ inferences).
Richards takes enough care to double-check the news and to make sure that Brently’s likely
dead. He also enlists Josephine’s help to break the news to Louise. He tries to get to Louise
before a “less careful, less tender friend” can break the sad news to her, which suggests that
he’s a thoughtful person in his own right.
It’s also important to note is that Richards is aware of Louise’s heart condition, meaning
that he knows Louise Mallard well enough to know of her health and how she is likely to
bear grief. He appears again in the story at the very end, when he tries (and fails) to shield
Brently from his wife’s view to prevent her heart from reacting badly. While Richards is a
background character in the narrative, he demonstrates a high level of friendship,
consideration, and care for Louise.
 Brently Mallard
Mr. Brently Mallard is the husband of the main character, Louise. We get few details about him,
though readers do know he’s been on a train that has met with a serious accident. For the majority of
the story, readers believe Brently Mallard is dead—though the end of “The Story of an Hour” reveals
that he’s been alive all along. In fact, Brently doesn’t even know of the railroad tragedy when he
arrives home “travel-stained.”
Immediately after Louise hears the news of his death, she remembers him fondly. She remarks on
his “kind, tender hands” and says that Brently “never looked save with love” upon her. It’s not so
much Brently as it’s her marriage to him which oppresses Louise. While he apparently always loved
Louise, Louise only “sometimes” loved Brently. She constantly felt that he “impose[d] a private will”
upon her, as most husbands do their wives. And while she realizes that Brently likely did so without
malice, she also realized that “a kind intention or a cruel intention” makes the repression “no less a
crime.”
Brently’s absence in the story does two things. First, it contrasts starkly with Louise’s life of illness
and confinement. Second, Brently’s absence allows Louise to imagine a life of freedom outside of the
confines of marriage, which gives her hope. In fact, when he appears alive and well (and dashes
Louise’s hopes of freedom), she passes away.
 The Doctors

Though the mention of them is brief, the final sentence of the story is striking. Chopin writes, “When
the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills.” Just as she had no
freedom in life, her liberation from the death of her husband is told as a joy that killed her.
In life as in death, the truth of Louise Mallard is never known. Everything the readers know about her
delight in her newfound freedom happens in Louise’s own mind; she never gets the chance to share her
secret joy with anyone else.

Consequently, the ending of the story is double-sided. If the doctors are to be believed, Louise Mallard
was happy to see her husband, and her heart betrayed her. And outwardly, no one has any reason to
suspect otherwise. Her reaction is that of a dutiful, delicate wife who couldn’t bear the shock of her
husband returned from the grave.
But readers can infer that Louise Mallard died of the grief of a freedom she never had, then found,
then lost once more. Readers can interpret Louise’s death as her experience of true grief in the
story—that for her ideal life, briefly realized then snatched away.
 Symbolism

In “The Story of an Hour,” symbolism is

everywhere, but the three major symbols
present in the story are:

1. The heart
2. The house and the outdoors
3. Joy and sorrow
 The Heart

Louise's heart condition represents her emotional fragility.

Heart disease, referred to as a “heart condition” within the text, opens and closes the text. The disease
is the initial cause for everyone’s concern, since Louise’s condition makes her delicate. Later, heart
disease causes Louise’s death upon Brently’s safe return. In this case, Louise’s ailing heart has
symbolic value because it suggests to readers that her life has left her heartbroken. When she believes
she’s finally found freedom, Louise prays for a long life...when just the day before, she’d “had
thought with a shudder that life might be long.”
As Louise realizes her freedom, it’s almost as if her heart sparks back to life. Chopin writes, “Now
her bosom rose and fell tumultuously...she was striving to beat it back...Her pulses beat fast, and the
coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” These words suggest that, with her
newfound freedom, the symptoms of her heart disease have lifted. Readers can surmise that Louise’s
diseased heart is the result of being repressed, and hope brings her heart back to life.
Unfortunately, when Brently comes back, so does Louise’s heart disease. And, although her death is
attributed to joy, the return of her (both symbolic and literal) heart disease kills her in the end.
 The Window in Louise’s Room
As Louise Mallard secludes herself in her room, she sits by an open window.
This open window signifies possibility and a revitalization of her senses, thus
enhancing her sense of being alive.
She inhales the fresh aroma of rain from outside, observes trees swaying in
the wind, and spots patches of blue sky amidst dense clouds.
She listens to a merchant hawking his wares, distant snippets of a song, and
birdsong.
Sitting by this open window, Louise starts to comprehend her newfound
freedom and autonomy, realizing that she can pursue her own life.
The "new spring life" she witnesses helps her connect with her own longing
for a fresh beginning.
 The House/ Indoor and the Outdoors
The second set of symbols are Louise’s house and the world she can see outside of her window. Chopin
contrasts these two symbolic images to help readers better understand how marriage and repression
have affected Louise.
First of all, Louise is confined to the home—both within the story and in general. For her, however, her
home isn’t a place to relax and feel comfortable. It’s more like a prison cell. All of the descriptions of
the house reinforce the idea that it’s closed off and inescapable. For instance, the front door is locked
when Mr. Mallard returns home. When Mrs. Mallard is overcome with grief, she goes deeper inside
her house and locks herself in her room.
In that room, however, Mrs. Mallard takes note of the outdoors by looking out of her window. Even in
her momentary grief, she describes the “open square before her house” and “the new spring life.” The
outdoors symbolize freedom in the story, so it’s no surprise that she realizes her newfound freedom as
she looks out her window. Everything about the outside is free, beautiful, open, inviting, and
pleasant...a stark contrast from the sadness inside the house.
The house and its differences from outdoors serve as one of many symbols for how Louise feels about
her marriage: barred from a world of independence.
 Joy and Sorrow
Finally, joy and sorrow are motifs that come at unexpected times
throughout “The Story of an Hour.” Chopin juxtaposes joy and sorrow to
highlight how tragedy releases Louise from her sorrow and gives her a
joyous hope for the future.
At first, sorrow appears as Louise mourns the death of her husband. Yet,
in just a few paragraphs, she finds joy in the event as she discovers a
life of her own. Though Louise is able to see that feeling joy at such an
event is “monstrous,” she continues to revel in her happiness.
It is later that, when others expect her to be joyful, Josephine lets out a
“piercing cry,” and Louise dies. Doctors interpret this as “the joy that
kills,” but more likely it’s a sorrow that kills. The reversal of the
“appropriate” feelings at each event reveals how counterintuitive the
“self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse
of her being” is to the surrounding culture. This paradox reveals
something staggering about Louise’s married life: she is so unhappy with
her situation that grief gives her hope...and she dies when that hope is
taken away.
 Mallard as a Surname

Finally, we find another symbol in the “Mallard” surname. A mallard is a wild

duck, from which comes the domesticated species. In marrying a Mallard,
Louise has taken on a domesticated role, yet she seems to wish for a wilder
existence. Male mallards have showy, iridescent colors. It doesn’t take much
imagination to anthropomorphize the male mallard. It seems to be wearing a
white collar, green hat, and brown suit. As for its more subdued partner, the
female mallard has a plain, speckled brown plumage.

Finally, the mallard symbol adds to another subtler motif, this time of flight. As
Louise watches the clouds, she realizes that Brently’s death will allow her to fly
free of her subordinate position. The feeling that overwhelms her seems to come
“creeping out of the sky.” And finally, when she emerges from her room, she
“carried herself like a goddess of Victory.” Artists often depict this goddess
with wings.
 Allusion as a Literary Device
Another literary device, allusion, occurs when Chopin
compares Louise to the goddess of Victory. In Greek
mythology, this goddess, also called Nike, represents triumph.
This allusion would have worked particularly well in Chopin’s
day, when Greek and Roman Classics were widely studied.
Chopin would have seen representations of Nike looking
valiant in books, museums, and reproductions.

Finally, Chopin’s subtle and suggestive prose style could be

considered another literary device. Her sentences, seemingly
simple, discreet, and demure, act as a reflection of Louise’s
multilayered personality. Through the writing itself, the reader
can enter into her thoughts, and access a complex layering of
ideas and emotions.
 Irony:
When Brently Mallard enters the house alive and well in the final
scene, his appearance is utterly ordinary. He is "a little travel-stained,
composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella." His mundane
appearance contrasts greatly with Louise's "feverish triumph" and
her walking down the stairs like a "goddess of Victory."
When the doctors determine that Louise "died of heart disease -- of
joy that kills," the reader immediately recognizes the irony. It seems
clear that her shock was not joy over her husband's survival, but
rather distress over losing her cherished, newfound freedom. Louise
did briefly experience joy -- the joy of imagining herself in control of
her own life. And it was the removal of that intense joy that led to her
death.
https://www.thoughtco.com/analysis-story-of-an-hour-2990475
 Imagery:
“Patches of Blue Sky Amid the Clouds”
The scene is full of energy and hope. The trees are "all
aquiver with the new spring of life," the "delicious breath of
rain" is in the air, sparrows are twittering, and Louise can
hear someone singing a song in the distance. She can see
"patches of blue sky" amid the clouds.

She observes these patches of blue sky without registering

what they might mean. Describing Louise's gaze, Chopin
writes, "It was not a glance of reflection, but rather
indicated a suspension of intelligent thought." If she had
been thinking intelligently, social norms might have
prevented her from such a heretical recognition. Instead, the
world offers her "veiled hints" that she slowly pieces
together without even realizing she is doing so.
“The tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” (Chopin 1894,
line 16-17). It is ironic that the trees would be described as “quivering” with life
during a moment that should be saddening and heart felt. Also, the suggestion
of new life makes the reader associate this with spring, rejuvenation, and
rebirth. However during mourning, imagery is supposed to bes dark, gothic,
and depressing. The word choice during the scene identifies the shift in mood
and change in plot. Chopin uses language to hint to the reader the swing in
emotion felt by Mrs. Mallard at the realization of her husband’s death.
In the next paragraph the audience gets the oxymoron, “monstrous joy”
(Chopin 1894, line 37). This also preludes the reader to the end of the story.
The monster then foreshadows its self at the end of the story.
The “elixir of life” (Chopin 1894, line 41), is the last precluding clue the
audience receives from her demise. Through the use of language such as
oxymoron, imagery, and irony, Chopin was able to provide the audience with
“the story of the hour”.
 Themes
Freedom and Repression
The most prevalent theme in Chopin’s story is the battle between freedom and “repression.” Simply put, repression happens when a
person’s thoughts, feelings, or desires are being subdued. Repression can happen internally and externally. For example, if a person
goes through a traumatic accident, they may (consciously or subconsciously) choose to repress the memory of the accident itself.
Likewise, if a person has wants or needs that society finds unacceptable, society can work to repress that individual. Women in the
19th century were often victims of repression. They were supposed to be demure, gentle, and passive—which often went against
women’s personal desires.

Given this, it becomes apparent that Louise Mallard is the victim of social repression. Until the moment of her husband’s supposed
death, Louise does not feel free. In their marriage, Louise is repressed. Readers see this in the fact that Brently is moving around in
the outside world, while Louise is confined to her home. Brently uses railroad transportation on his own, walks into his house of his
own accord, and has individual possessions in the form of his briefcase and umbrella. Brently is even free from the knowledge of the
train wreck upon his return home. Louise, on the other hand, is stuck at home by virtue of her position as a woman and her heart
condition.

Here, Chopin draws a strong contrast between what it means to be free for men and women. While freedom is just part of what it
means to be a man in America, freedom for women looks markedly different. Louise’s life is shaped by what society believes a
woman should be and how a wife should behave. Once Louise’s husband “dies,” however, she sees a way where she can start
claiming some of the more “masculine” freedoms for herself. Chopin shows how deeply important freedom is to the life of a woman
when, in the end, it’s not the shock of her husband’s return of her husband that kills Louise, but rather the thought of losing her
freedom again.
 Marriage
Marriage in “The Story of an Hour” is more than just an idyllic life spent with a significant other. The Mallard’s
marriage shows a reality of 1890s life that was familiar to many people. Marriage was a means of social
control—that is to say, marriage helped keep women in check and secure men’s social and political power. While
husbands were usually free to wander the world on their own, hold jobs, and make important family decisions,
wives (at least those of the upper class) were expected to stay at home and be domestic.

Marriage in Louise Mallard’s case has very little love. She sees her marriage as a life-long bond in which she feels
trapped, which readers see when she confesses that she loved her husband only “sometimes.” More to the point,
she describes her marriage as a “powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women
believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” In other words, Louise Mallard feels
injustice in the expectation that her life is dictated by the will of her husband.

Like the story, the marriages Kate witnessed often ended in an early or unexpected death. The women of her
family, including Kate herself, all survived their husbands and didn’t remarry. While history tells us that Kate
Chopin was happy in her marriage, she was aware that many women weren’t. By showing a marriage that had
been built on control and society’s expectations, Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” highlights the need for a world
that respected women as valuable partners in marriage as well as capable individuals.
 Self-Determination
Mr. Brently Mallard’s death has made Louise see something she hasn't seen before and might
likely never have seen if he had lived: her desire for self-determination.
Once she allows herself to recognize her approaching freedom, she utters the word "free" over
and over again, relishing it. Her fear and her uncomprehending stare are replaced by
acceptance and excitement. She looks forward to "years to come that would belong to her
absolutely.“
In one of the most important passages of the story, Chopin describes Louise's vision of
self-determination. It's not so much about getting rid of her husband as it is about being
entirely in charge of her own life, "body and soul." Chopin writes:

"There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself.
There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and
women believe they have a right to impose a will upon a fellow-creature."
Note the phrase men and women. Louise never catalogs any specific offenses Brently has
committed against her; rather, the implication seems to be that marriage can be stifling for
both parties.