The Story of an Hour Analysis

            

              In 1894, the first women's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York calling for equal voting rights for men and women.  As a strong believer and supporter of the Women's Movement, writer Kate Chopin wrote and had Vogue magazine publish the story,  "The Story of an Hour."  By doing so, she hopes to portray how women felt about being restrained by marriage and men.  To emanate how women feel, Chopin utilizes repetition, metaphor, and imagery.  
              In the story written by Chopin, Louise or Mrs. Mallard, finds out that her husband was killed in a railroad disaster from her sister Josephine.  At first, Louise wept and felt heartbroken.  However, as she calms down, she repeats the words, "free, free, free!" in lines 12 and 13.  Chopin choses to utilize the word "free" with an exclamation point multiple times to portray Louise's realization that she is no longer trapped by her husband.  It also brings attention to the readers, which at that time were women reading Vogue magazine, the joy Louise feels and the joy they could feel if women all around didn't need their husbands support to live.  In addition, in line 16, "Free! Body and soul free!" these words get a line by themselves to emphasize Louise's realization of a new life after her husband's funeral.  In addition, Chopin utilizes the use of the word, "open" multiple times throughout the story as a way to represent that Louise is finally free to live her own life.  As Mrs. Mallard open's the window, she's able to breathe into the fresh new air and embrace the new found freedom in her life.  As a result, this new sense of freedom overwhelms her feeling of sorrow for her dead husband.
              In "The Story of An Hour," when Mrs. Mallard first heard the news of her husband's death, she grieved, as a common reaction in losing a loved one.  Surprisingly  though, one she is alone in her room, she isn't so sad anymore.  She seems relieved.  To represent this, in lines 18 and 19, "...she was drinking in a very elixir of life..."  This metaphor reveals to the reader that the tragic death of her husband was actually an eye opening view of the world for Mrs. Mallard.  She could finally live her life the way she wanted to without restraint by her husband.  Another metaphor shows up in the last line, "...she had died of heart disease of joy that kills."  This is an ironic metaphor because Mrs. Mallards was so happy that her husband is dead and was looking forward to the years of having to just worry about herself.  Yet, as she exited her room with pride, her husband unlocks the front door to their house and enters.  As Mrs. Mallard sees her husband, all of her joy feels as if it was struck by a spear and into her heart.  In other words, she had a heart attack that her husband didn't die, so she died instead.
              In, The Story of the Hour, Chaplin, utilizes imagery to allude to the dramatic ending. As Mrs. Mallard sits in her room,  we see the details of nature she sees. The reader is forced to take in the sky, the trees, and the wind. While the reader is caught in the image of nature and the character’s surroundings, the reader is then able ignore some the subtle hints. This takes the audience away from death of her husband.  As a result, the audience does not think to ask what will happen to Mrs. Mallard. For example, she is now a widow, so is she left to raise children alone? The reader instead focused their attention on the elements of the surrounding.  Everything is peaceful and joyful, when "BAM!" her husband is not dead.  Because of all the dramatic and subtle use of language throughout the story, the reader didn't predict the dramatic change in the story before it happens.  Which makes it even more dramatic.
             This story was published in Vogue magazine, a women's best friend, and  was a perfect choice.  As a supporter of the Women's Movement, most people would expect her to write a speech for supporters.  Interestingly though,  Kate Chopin sharp-wittedly created a story as a way to communicate to women all over the United States on how men and marriage restrict women to their full capabilities. She created a very emotional and ironic story that never sided, but captivated the reader's attention to read to the very end. Because of the time period, many readers wondered how a women could live without a husband. Instead of creating a mournful widow, Chopin created one that realized the freedom she was gaining because of her husband's death.  This story is showing readers that women are strong by themselves too.