[Writer Name]

[Supervisor Name]

[Subject]

[Date]

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Introduction

Kate Chopin's, “The Story of an Hour,” is a bittersweet story that leaves out many details which the reader has to fill in. The story kept my attention from the first sentence until the last. My first response after reading the piece was shocking. Emotions such as crying, shock, grief, and guilt are normal reactions when a loved one dies; therefore it was easy to sympathize with Mrs. Mallard and forgive her rather than judge her for her feelings and emotions.

Thesis Statement

The story of a young, innocent woman with a newly found inner-happiness and sense of freedom

Discussion

Kate Chopin introduces the character of Louise Mallard very formally, by only referring to her as “Mrs Mallard” until near the end. She is only referred to by her second name, this re-enforces the fact that she is married, that she is only her husband's possession. She was a young lady “with a fair calm face, whose lines bespoke repression” the repressed lines are an important part of Louise's description in the story because they show that she has stress behind them and maybe that her husband has been suppressing her inner woman. While she has been in the house working, like any 19th century women would, she has been forgetting to embrace her inner women. The average housewife from the 1800's was expected to wait hand and foot on their husbands. What these women were put through is in fact, slavery, but no one thought twice about it back then, as it was normal in every marriage. You signed away any remaining freedom at the altar. I think what is the worst about this is that the married man felt not as if they were owed this service, they deserved it, for simply being. To think you can control, even enslave anther human is completely wrong. Every wife was enslaved by their husband.

Mr Mallard was never violent towards her, so that is definitely not why she wants so desperately to leave; I just think that the thought of freedom would greatly outweigh any marriage Louise would have. This is why she is so excited (no matter how selfish this sounds) that her husband has died because this sound like the only way you could get out of a marriage in the 1800's. As they did not marry for love, a man only needed a woman to pick-up after him so there was never even a thought of either person leaving the marriage. Divorce did not exist. This is why she did not stop to think if it "were a monstrous joy that held her". The thought that this joy could come from evil did not cross her mind, not even if it did somehow possess her, altering her thoughts (Selina, pp 215). But the illusion of a "clear and exalted perception" allowed her to dismiss the suggestion as "trivial”. All these years living with him; she has grown attached to him. Even though ...