The Story of an Hour
Haley Wetherington
Post #3
Kate Chopin’s stories always have such complex characters and I really enjoy reading them. Mrs. Mallard from The Story of an Hour and Enda Pontellier from The Awakening (Another story by Kate Chopin) remind me of one another. Not just because they both (spoiler alert) die at the end, but both characters are experiencing freedom and working on their own sense of self separate from their husbands. Mrs. Mallard is especially interesting because it’s almost as though her heart condition symbolizes her husband, the marriage, and the oppression she felt. After hearing of her husband’s death, her heart began to beat strong which could represent the freedom that she felt now that her husband was gone. It’s almost as though her heart condition disappeared upon his death. She began to imagine her new life and what it would be like to be her own woman and in charge of her own affairs. She had a moment to imagine what her life could be like only to have it all taken away from her upon her husband’s miraculous return. Along with the return of her husband came the return of her heart troubles. The doctor said, “She had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills”. It seems like Chopin is using the previous phrase ironically because Mrs. Mallard died from losing joy. She did die of a heart condition, but it was from loosing the freedom that she was so close to attaining. It seems as though Kate Chopin uses death as a way of letting her characters escape from their marriages. The only thing worse than not having freedom is coming so close to being free and then having it taken away from you. Mrs. Mallard was not able to have a free body and soul in the society she lived in which is why she had to die.
Beth Parker
Dillon Freeman
Post #3
Having read it previously, I was very excited to see that
Kate Chopin’s ‘Story of an Hour’ would be discussed in class. I think the
concept of Mrs. Mallard initially learning about her husband’s death bringing her
joy is very interesting. Mrs. Mallard
says that her husband has never done anything to do her wrong; she just loves
the thought of not having to rely on anyone to make decisions in her life. In the time period the story is set women had
a very limited amount of rights. They
were still seen as possessions of their husband. Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister, was worried
that the news of her husband’s death would have a negative effect on her
sister. Josephine was worried that she would
do harm to herself. Mrs. Mallard felt
more liberation from the news of her husband’s death than sadness. Chopin says Mrs. Mallard kept whispering
“Free! Body and soul free!” She imagined the life she would live where she
could ‘live for herself’. Mrs. Mallard
loved the thought of being her own woman and not having to respond to anyone
for approval. It’s heartbreaking to read
the story when Mrs. Mallard realizes all she can now do in her life just to
have it all be taken back by the fact that Brently is not, in fact, dead. Like the original poster said, In ‘The
Awakening’ Edna couldn’t bear the thought of living life with her husband who
didn’t love her. She would rather drown
in the ocean than go on living a life in misery. In many stories, water is used to symbolize a
rebirth of a character. By making Edna
go into the water it’s almost as though she is starting over as a person. It’s interesting how Chopin has her female
main characters killed in order to no long have to endure a feeling of
meaninglessness.
Nikkigetup
I found “The Story of an Hour” to be an extremely interesting read. The character Mrs. Mallard was fascinating. Here is a character excited by the death of her husband. I mean think about it. This story was written in 1894 when women were extremely oppressed, and are thought to be loving wives. The woman’s place during that time was to be the homemaker and be their husband’s comfort when they needed it. To have a women be happy because her husband was dead and for it to be written about must have been very scandalous at that time. I bet at that time many women could relate to this story secretly and could never admit to it in fear of being looked at as a monster. You could look at this story and find a women who is heartless or you could find a women who feels freedom from the oppression of her husband. I find it to be a story about freedom. For example, “She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" She was feeling a weight lifted and as the reader you can almost feel it too when reading that line. Sadly though, her husband is indeed alive and she dies of a heart attack. The last line says, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.” I think the irony in this is not that joy killed her, but the feeling of terror that her life in fact will not change. On a happier note, she at the end is ultimately freed when she dies.
Alexis Graham
nathalia sosa
POST 3
Today we briefly spoke about the possibility that Chopin’s stereotypical female reaction of Mrs. Mallard in regards to her husbands death may in fact be counterproductive to Feminism. This thought was one that occurred to me the first time I encountered this short story in another class, because frankly if I were in Mrs. Mallard’s situation I would have just left my husband. Of course, the era in which this is supposedly written greatly impacts the ability of Mrs. Mallard to simply leave. However, it is also true that Mr. Mallard would probably not have shown as much “emotion” as his wife if he hear news of her death and this again supports the idea that women are emotional, fragile, and weak in many ways. I think that in many ways Mrs. Mallard is symbolic of the main character in The Yellow Wallpaper in that her lack of an emotional outlet for so long is eventually her downfall. Furthermore, I feel like Mr. Mallard has less too loose than his wife because had she died he would simply have replaced her, but Mrs. Mallard could be facing financial struggle or be looked down upon socially. In the story Chopin makes this fact obvious, and it is almost “mocking” the feminist stereotype in my opinion. Instead of making Mrs. Mallard a defiant and heroic symbol for women she merely supports the idea that women are dependent on men and the only way to escape their control is through death. Lastly, by not including more details to support why Mrs.Mallard was so overjoyed upon hearing of her husbands death, it is difficult to feel happy for her or join in her happiness. This makes the protagonist look estranged as opposed to depicting her as a victim causing the emotion of the reader to trail away from pity and empathy and into believing she is acting “womanly” or crazy. In the end, Mr. Mallard is the one who wins- not only does his unloving wife die but he gets to live freely and without an emotional woman by his side.
Kristi Sardina
Katey Mccauley
Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour and The Awakening both exhibit feminist attitudes towards oppression of women in that time period. Edna Pontellier and Mrs. Mallard are similar characters due to the fact that both women are seeking their independence and they both gain this independence through death. While Mrs. Mallard thought that she had gained independence from her husband through the even of his death, upon learning that this is not the case she dies from a heart attack caused by grief. This grief is the result of her freedom being briefly handed, and then snatched from her. In the case of Edna, her character is seeking freedom from her oppressive husband and the expectations of motherhood she was burdened with. This freedom is achieved through the affair with Arobin, moving away from her family, and finally in her suicide. The idea of women being able to gain freedom in death is a theme that permeates these two stories from Chopin. The degree of freedom gained is open to interpretation; there is room to debate if freedom is even gained. Many believe that Mrs. Mallard’s heart attack and Edna’s suicide are not liberating at all, but in fact failures and a reflection of the inability to break away from the feminine mold they are expected to conform to. This realization that they are hopelessly ensnared by the duties of women becomes too much to handle and they choose the easiest escape route, death. I, however, interpret both of Chopin’s characters deaths as the ultimate freedom, a total rejection of the world in which they are expected to be a member of, the conscious acknowledgement and refusal to participate in the male notion of womanhood. Their choice of suicide is a way to overcome the male estimations of what it means to be a wife, a mother, and a woman in society.
Andrew Reynolds
Alexis Perez
Autumn Holcomb
Dr. Reynolds, it’s funny that you mentioned Ruth Hall because I had to read that for another class and I was thinking about it today in relation to our topics of feminism. In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard is simply imagining all of the things that she can do now that her husband is dead, but in Ruth Hall, Ruth is actually faced with her husband’s death. Unlike Mrs. Mallard, Ruth’s reaction is completely different. Ruth and her husband got along perfectly, and he pretty much let her do whatever she wanted, much to the dismay of her mother-in-law.
When Ruth’s husband died (sorry to anyone that’s reading this post and hasn’t read the novel- read it anyways, it’s pretty good) she was extremely distraught because she had no means to provide for herself and her family was full of terrible people that wouldn’t help her. Ruth begins writing as a way to provide for herself and she becomes famous for the way that she tells the truth blatantly. This story, unlike the many examples of female writing, would be hard to read in any way other than with feminism. Ruth overcomes her hardships to prove everybody wrong, especially her awful mother-in-law. Seriously, I was hoping she would die. At one point her mother-in-law takes Ruth’s eldest daughter and Ruth is able to take her back right before her mother-in-law sends her into a flooded basement to grab something.
On the level of confinement, Ruth is figuratively confined within her limits as a woman, and it makes finding a job extremely difficult for her. She is also confined within her family throughout most of the novel, because she is unable to make a new one for herself until she meets some new, wonderful friends. She is confined within her poverty as well. On a more literal level, she is confined within a room where she shuts herself to write. Ruth Hall doesn’t exactly depict a madwoman, but Ruth is shunned from her family after her husband dies, and when she becomes poor, they blame her. No one wants to claim her as a family member because of her poverty, and in a way this leads her to her writer’s quest, where she has to write so that she can make money. It is extremely difficult to read this text without cheering for Ruth. Her family is just terrible, I seriously cannot express that enough.
Ruth’s struggle shows the struggle of a woman left to her own devices, while still being repressed by society. It just makes me think that even if Mrs. Mallard had been widowed, how much power would she really have? If she had any, it would have been because her husband had left her a good bit of money, which would mean that her power was still coming from her husband, even when he was dead.
P.S. Sorry this post was so long. I had a lot to say and I didn't want to leave anything out.
Matthew Seif
Post 3
Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour is a very powerful short story that followed the first wave of feminism during the 19th century. The drive for feminine independence was really the main theme of this story and at the time it was written, it was a very new concept to society, which probably stunned readers who never thought of such an idea. Chopin uses brilliant figures of speech to paint the picture of Mrs. Mallard feeling empowered at the moment she figured out that she was free from the oppression of her marriage. The simile, “…she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory” defines the true feelings of not only Mrs. Mallard, but also the feminist writer of the story, Kate Chopin. She makes it very clear that Brentley, Mrs. Mallard’s husband was a very controlling husband that did not give his wife a lot of freedom. When Mrs. Mallard was told the news about her husband’s death she was looking out of the window and she observed that, “there were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.” The window is a metaphor for the window of opportunity that would soon follow after her grief ran its course. The element of too much happiness due to the death of one’s spouse definitely brought on an eerie underlying theme throughout the story, and the extreme emotional aspect during the first read left the reader with such a shocking reaction from the ending. It is really interesting to see this work as one of the first feminist pieces as I read Hilda Doolittle’s Trilogy that tied in war and religion to gaining the ultimate independence as a female. Seeing different feministic traits from different angles has actually given me a newfound respect for these writers as they have the audacity to use literature to express their feelings of something that was so new at the time they wrote these works.
Kaitlin Ormerod
Post #3
When we were discussing The Story of an Hour today in class, an alternate reading was brought up of the story that I wish we could have discussed further: namely, that Mrs. Mallard is selfish in her joy about her husband’s death. First of all, I wouldn’t say that she was necessarily rejoicing in the fact that he was dead per se, but in the freedom that his death opened up to her. There was a certain social mobility in being a widow, which can be seen all the way back to the Wife of Bath in the Canterbury Tales who has a great deal of independence for a woman of her time and many future women. I don’t think that wanting independence makes Mrs. Mallard a selfish or a bad person; it’s not like she was planning on killing him to get it, but those prospects had to be enticing. I think it’s easy to judge her now because today social freedom for women is a right, not something you would probably never get because you are treated as property: first by your father and then by your husband. The news of her husband’s death is the first time she is not literally a possession of another human being. It was also brought up in class that could it be more the institution of marriage she bucks against as opposed to patriarchy as a whole. Although her husband is a nice person and treats her well and is good to her and it certainly isn’t his fault that things are the way they are, I still think the problem really lies in the cultural issues of patriarchy rather than specifically in the institution of marriage for two reasons. One, because the structure of the institution is created out of this larger male-dominated system, and two, because Mrs. Mallard, and the women of the nineteenth century she comes to represent, would have been a possession of her father’s long before she was married so she was always oppressed. It didn’t begin with her marriage but the day she was born.
Jessica Eaton
Upon reading this story by Chopin, I was instantly reminded of one of her other characters, Edna Pontellier from The Awakening. Unfortunately I did not enjoy that book and the similarities between the two characters really irked me. But that is beside the point. To me, both women seemed a little ridiculous because while neither had a bad marriage, both husbands were pretty nice, both women wanted to be free of their marriages. It really makes no sense to me, on a purely surface level, especially in this short story since there is not much in the way of character development, why Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to finding her husband alive would be so extreme. I see where the feminists could read this story as her seeking freedom and the idea of tasting that freedom only to have it taken away could drive someone so crazy they would die, but it just is not that believable in my opinion. Edna is the same way. One minute she is happy with her life, loves her kids, and the next she wants to send them away and live alone in a separate house. I think I would like Chopin’s stories better if the idea of women being oppressed by the patriarchal system was more evident because from what we read the husband was not even a part of the story until the very end. This is why stories like The Yellow Wallpaper make more sense to me since it is clear there is someone or something making the woman feel oppressed and to drive her crazy. But overall, I have never been a big fan of Chopin’s work, nor have I enjoyed the topic of feminism in general. However, I can see how this story might be read in a feminist way even if it is a bit of a stretch in my opinion.
Donald DeBevoise
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin seems to reflect nicely Gilbert and Gubar's description of 19th Century Women's Writing. In a way, the four central elements that make up 19th Century Women's Writing are highlighted in the short story. When news comes of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard realizes that she has been given the chance to live her life with complete freedom from the chains of marriage. This realization may serve as the woman writer's quest for her own story. Mrs. Mallard becomes the "Mad Woman", the defining character of 19th Century Women's Literature, the moment that she experiences the epiphany in her bedroom. Before this point in the story I would not say that Mrs. Mallard is the "Mad Woman", because she does not seek the power of self-articulation. Also, symbols and images are used to illustrate her inability to break free of a patriarchal society, such as her own room. And there are also symbols of her potential freedom, like the window in her room. My understanding of the palimpsestic idea is as follows: while it was understood that women had a limited role during the time period, Chopin uncovers the emotion and feelings of imprisonment that women really experience. She doesn’t create a story where the opposite of reality happens, but rather emphasizes the social boundaries through a tragic scenario.
I particularly find The Story of an Hour interesting because Mrs. Mallard doesn’t truly become the “Mad Woman” until she receives information of her husband’s death. The norms of society keep her from realizing the full possibilities that lie beyond societal limitations. Though she may not realize it, the opening line “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble” hints that Mrs. Mallard may still long for a greater freedom. Chopin may be saying that societal norms kept women from attaining true freedom of expression and also from attaining the knowledge of having this option.
Thomas Scheip
I feel that "The Story of An Hour" asserts feminist ideals more quietly than a surface reading might show. A 'close' reading of the story helps reveal Kate Chopin’s mastery over language and perhaps a more female-centric narration than originally thought. Because of the brevity of the piece, diction becomes incredibly important. So with this mindset, I began to read new meanings into the story, whether they were intentional on Chopin’s part or not. Specifically, in the paragraph starting “She would weep again,” it could be argued that Louise Mallard isn’t thinking about her husband at all. It seems doubtful that the woman with a face “whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength,” and who oftentimes did not love Brently, would be so distraught by his death that she envisions his funeral.
This passage almost eerily lacks any form of possessive pronoun for the hands or the face described. The story isn’t two full pages, so these seemingly minute language decisions have bigger implications than they would in a longer piece. Without knowing whose hands they are, I like to think they belong to Death itself. It’s why I believe, in this scene, she envisions her own death without even realizing it. If we decided to interpret it as “[The Grim Reaper] never looked save with love upon her,” we can understand that death never looked upon Louise, killing her, except with love – meaning that by taking her life Louise is being freed from her less than happy marriage (saved.) Then we get the phrase “long procession of years” which at face value describes Louise’s life after Brently. However, the word procession connotes a funeral (which should be over by this point), making it seem that she isn’t describing her longevity after her husband’s death, but instead the eternity of her own death.
Chelsea Bennett
Post 3
The “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin was very interesting and one of the few short stories we’ve read that I was able to stay interested in. Though I enjoyed the story it was a little difficult for me to see how it fit with the Gilbert and Gubar article. It wasn’t until we discussed it in class that I some what was able to see how it could be categorized with nineteenth century women writers. Looking into The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was helpful in understanding the four subjects that define nineteenth century female writers. Hearing what the class had to say and describing what the story was about made me interested in reading the novel.
Also, the novel, The Barracks by John McGahern I read in my Irish Literature class has similar characteristics seen in “Story of an Hour” and The Yellow Wallpaper in regards to the main female character and how the readers are able to understand her inner thoughts. Another interesting part in this feminism unit was how Moi’s article bashed Gilbert and Gubar’s ideas. Or at least that is how I felt about the article. It seemed Moi found Gilbert and Gubar contradicting their views on female writers and they’re criticism on Jane Austen’s novels. She felt they disregarded her works or actually couldn’t see her subtle irony.
I’ve enjoyed reading different concepts on feminine theory in regards to literature mostly because I’m simultaneously taking a gender issues film class that focuses on female films known as “chick flicks.” Being able to use the knowledge of that class with these ideas and vice versa has enlightened my views on literature and films that focus on the female subject. Now I have a list of novels I’m excited to dive into in the future.
Andrew Reynolds
Tiyla Garrett
I found “The Story of an Hour” to be an extremely interesting read. The character Mrs. Mallard was intriguing. It surprised me that she was excited about the death of her husband. This story was written at a time when women were extremely oppressed, and are thought to be loving wives. The woman’s “job” during that time was to be the homemaker and be their husband’s comfort. I bet at that time many women could relate to this story secretly and could never admit to it in fear of being looked at as a monster. You could look at this story and find that Mrs. Mallard was a heartless woman or you could find that she was just experiencing freedom from her husband. There was no other way for her to obtain freedom because she couldn’t divorce him. Although, if he chose to divorce her in that day and time if would be okay for him to move on and remarry. I think it’s a horrible double standard that a woman had to stay in a marriage even if she wasn’t happy. It turned out that her husband is didn’t die in the railroad disaster and she ultimately dies of a heart attack when he returns. "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering. When I read that line, I couldn’t help but feel sad that she was reduced to feeling this way at a time that she should have been grieving the loss of her husband. The last line says, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.” The irony of the situation is that this is not that joy killed her, but the feeling of terror that her life in fact will not change. The good part about her death is that she gains the freedom that she so desperately needed.
Bri Shatanoff
Although “The Story of An Hour” is quite depressing, I enjoyed reading it. Death is something we all experience at one time or another in our lives. When I was reading this story, I put myself is Mrs. Mallard’s position. I imagined myself having a weak heart and being surrounded by my loved ones and having the news easily broken to me that my husband has been tragically killed. How do you move on from that? Where do you go from there? Chopin used the words, “with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.” I imagined how inconsolable people are when they find out someone close to their heart has passed on. In class we discussed the different theories of Mrs. Mallard passing moments after discovering her husband had, in fact, not been killed. In my opinion, I felt that Mrs. Mallard was sick and hanging on just to be with her soul mate. I feel when she was under the assumption he had been killed, she almost gave up and felt it was her time to go as well because there was no point in continuing on in life without him. I think when she discovered he was not dead, it was too late for her. She clearly loved him; the idea of his death had greatly upset her: “she sat with her head thrown back… quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.” Mrs. Mallard was letting go when something was coming for her, and as she was “waiting for it, fearfully”, she said “free, free, free!” Yes, she admitted sometimes she loved her husband and sometimes she did not, but marriage is tough and it is not always perfect. I think she died after seeing her husband because she had already let go.
cmcmil...@gmail.com
Courtney Hughes
Post #3
Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” and Feminist Theory
I want to look at this piece for its palimpsestic qualities, the writer’s quest, the madwoman component, and the symbolism of confinement. I’s like to question whether or not this piece is palimpsestic, in regards to feminist theory? Is there a hidden meaning, something that is not obvious to a reader who is not looking for feminist tone? Some critics argue that this story is not a representation of feminism, and that Chopin herself was not a feminist. It is my understanding that this work was met with some contempt from readers. The aspect of “triumph” after the death of a woman’s husband, was looked down upon... obviously much of Chopin’s work was revolutionary at the time of it’s creation. What was the writer’s quest or the plot... Mrs. Mallard (interestingly referred to “Mrs.” or “she” except during the period of her revelation and found freedom) is gently informed by a friend that her husband has died. She experiences a brief period of despair, and then, almost suddenly feels a powerful sense of freedom, liberation, and excitement. It as if she had not realized she was confined in her marriage until the reality of liberation washed over her. This episode... the drastic change in emotion might be considered akin to a “madwoman”... she is after all, blissful at the news of her freedom... a freedom that has come as a result of a terrible accident and the untimely death of a loving spouse. She did, sometimes love this man, and had no real complaints against him, yet the possibility of his absence creating an emotion that entirely unfamiliar... a storm, something powerful approaching, then it hits, and she is rid of her shackles. At the end, Mrs. Mallard, is again a Mrs., again a person that is bound. She escapes thorough death as other’s had mentioned. Perhaps the most sound “choice”.
Andrew Reynolds
Taryn Fenske
Post #4- Taryn Fenske
I’ve had to read Kate Chopin for other classes and white her stories end up being very sad, I enjoy her as a feminist author. While I agree that The Awakening and “The Story of an Hour” are both very similar I believe the rhetorical strategies used are best shown in “The Story of an Hour.” Mrs. Mallard’s feeling and thoughts are very blunt and direct and the reader can see she is free because her husband is dead. All in a few short moments, the reader is bombarded by these thoughts immediately after her husband’s train accident. I enjoy the stories for different reasons; “The Story of an Hour” uses urgency to clearly define the reason the story is being told. Mrs. Mallard previously felt trapped and is realizing that possibilities she now has. However, this brief moment of joy is crushed when her husband walks through the door. She then immediately dies. I believe Kate Chopin is telling the reader you are never truly free from your responsibilities by killing off Mrs. Mallard. Similarly in The Awakening, death is the only way to be truly free from these responsibilities. The short story uses juxtaposition in the very first sentence to foreshadow what will eventually happen. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was affected by heart trouble, great care was taken to break the news of her husband’s death.” She was terrified of death, and it was eventually what would have to happen for her to be fully free from her chains of marriage. Similar to Tiyla, I believe she died not from shock or joy, but the realization that her freedom was instantly taken from her. I know this isn’t a very “new form” of studying an author, but maybe these stories were the exact feelings Kate was having in her life.
Stacy Machado
I had to read the short story ‘story of an hour’ in another class. I was actually happy to see reading material that I had to read for another class in this class, as well as when we read about Toni Morrison. When I first read this story I thought this story was pretty interesting, I thought it was ironic how she was so ‘sad’ when Mrs. Mallard was told that her husband died. But when they tell her that they were mistaken, and she sees her husband is not dead, she ends up dying. I took this as she was so upset that she no longer had her freedom that she couldn’t bear to live under the shadows of her husband anymore so she died. We also read about feminism in class as well, I think that Kate Chopin has a lot of interesting stories, and a few of them have to deal in a way with feminism and around the same way how the main character dies. Both characters in her stories are over joyed with the feeling of freedom. This makes me think of how times were when the story was written, in 1894. Women didn’t have as much freedom as they do now. However in this story Mrs. Mallard is from a wealthy relationship and in this relationship the woman is in charge of certain activities like taking care of the house, being by her husband’s side. In a way things have not changed with the current wealthy families. There are many relationships where the husband makes all the money and the wife is expected to do her ‘womanly’ roles and take care of the things at home, leading woman to have no life. I don’t say the same for middle/upper class even lower class women. They are more out there trying to make money and survive for their families.