Again the sudden realization that she is “free”, free from her husband that she might have not really loved, freedom to live her life the way she wanted to. To her, death has given her a gift by taking her husband. Death has given her absolute freedom in her life, and she wanted to embrace it with open arms. She felt the triumphant victory that was freedom in death and she walked out with her sister, only to find that he husband was not dead. The story tells us that he was away from the accident and didn’t know it happened.
Then she walks out of her room and goes downstairs with her sister. At last, it reveals that Brently is never dead, because he has not been involved in the train disaster. Seeing her husband, Louise dies of the “joy that kills.” The theme of the story is the forbidden freedom of a married woman. Louise finds the “monstrous joy” after her husband’s death, because she thinks she could finally escape the oppression and be free on her own. Even though she feels sad about the fact that she has lost her husband, she cannot conceal her feeling thrills about her new life as an independent woman.
Situational irony is when the author expects one thing to happen but the opposite occurs. For instance, the reader would have speculated that the news of her husband’s death would have devastated Mrs. Mallard but the exact opposite occurs. Mrs. Mallard is contented and overjoyed by the news because at last she was “Free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin 574-575) While looking out the window she was imagining “…spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own...” (Chopin 574-575) She was eager to live her life without the pressure of a male. The author also relates the theme of the forbidden pleasure of independence in her short story with her use of dramatic irony.
Гордеева Лилия Ашотовна ЛМКК-3 Analysis of "The Story of An Hour". "The Story of an Hour" is a short story written in genre of literary fiction by Kate Chopin on April 19, 1894. Originally it was published in Vogue on December 6, 1894 as "The Dream of an Hour". The story under study tells about Louise Mallard – young woman, and her emotional experience connected with the fact of death of her husband. Mrs. Mallard suffers from heart problems; therefore, her sister attempts to inform her.
In her story, “Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin depicts a woman’s temporary freedom and miserable death in an attempt to expose and criticize the reality in her times. The protagonist is described as if she is a possession of her husband in the beginning of the story which reveals that women could not live their own lives. For instance, the protagonist is referred to as “Mrs. Mallard” until after she undergoes a transformation and comes out of her room. Following husband’s surname after getting married is not questioned and perhaps something that is considered natural and a matter of course.
She understood that she loves this freedom much more then she used to love her husband. The story end suddenly and unexpectedly: she descended the stairs and saw her husband safe and sound staying at the doors. The sudden heart attack killed her. This third-person narration is involving and touching. From the very beginning readers emphasize with the young woman and her tragedy.
“She said it over and over again under her breath: free, free, free!”, for Kate Chopin to use these words to express Mrs. Mallard’s gives thought that at some point she felt bound or captured by her husband (Clugston, R.W. 2010). Mrs. Mallard became excited about only having to care for herself and herself alone which lends to the idea of repression. Because of the time she lived in her desires and needs were not important and therefore went unmet. The reader can also take from the theme of repression that Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition
Above all else, she sees the freedom that is gained through this loss. Once she allows herself to accept this newfound freedom as her reality; she walks downstairs and is met by her husband at the door—alive and well. At this sight, Mrs. Mallard has a heart attack and dies. This story gains the interest of a reader through raw emotion. It is easy to connect to the character of Mrs. Mallard because of her pure honesty and sincerity.
Theme According to Chapter seven it states a theme is “in a story is the representation of the idea behind the story. (Clugston, 2010) “The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, the theme is about freedom and individuality. A woman that is looking for identity, selfhood, or self- discovery. Based off of the quote “She is young with a calm and strong face, but she stares dully into the sky while she waits nervously for a revelation.” (Clugston, 2010) She is saddened by her husband’s death but also feels a sense of freedom. She begins to plan her future, in which, she will live without the burden of another person.
When Louise is alone, she starts realizing that with her husband's death, she now has her independence. This realization excites her and even makes her think of life without him. Since it is forbidden to get joy out of somebody's death, she tries to suppress the joy. This shows that this freedom is forbidden. Finally she accepts the joy, feels overwhelmed by it and feels she has to let herself free to the feeling.