Analysis Of Symbolism In "The Story Of An Hour" By Kate Chopin

Name Tutor Course Date Analysis of Symbolism in The Story of an Hour Symbolism is to a literary work what sight is to the human body. It enables the readers to view the work from different perspectives, which is the essence of art. It evokes interest in the reader to try to understand the work more, find different angles to look at it, interact with the mind of the writer, and find their point of view. Symbolism elicits emotions, creates thoughts, ideas, and qualities. Tremendous gains have been realized in the struggle for gender equality in the modern society. However, the 19th century society was largely patriarchal. The women were entirely dependent on the men. Their voices were hushed, their wings clipped, their space limited, and their rights violated. In her novel The Story of the Hour, Kate Chopin captures this society. Through clever use of symbolism, she shows the role and place of women in the 19th century. She brings out the role of the men in shattering the dreams of the women, as well as how compliance to the patriarchal society by fellow women contributed to the suppression. She also captures the reawakening of the woman, and the start of her journey to take her rightful position in the society. The author uses Mrs. Mallard, her qualities, thoughts, dreams, actions, and environment to represent the classical 19th century woman and the patriarchal society she lived in. The stay-at-home woman, whose roles were just being a mother and wife, and a woman whose space was limited to the home (Chopin). It is a man who was at the newspaper station when the news of the alleged death of her husband arrived. This shows the limitation of the woman’s space. Richard also goes to great lengths to come up with a way of delivering the news to Mrs. Mallard. If it were a man, the news would have probably been passed without the several attempts to veil and conceal it. This shows that the society viewed the woman as a physically and emotionally weak being. She has this feeling of great physical exhaustion that reaches the depths of her soul. It shows the weight that the society placed on women. However, Mrs. Mallard possesses qualities that show defiance and resistance to these societal notions. She does not receive the news like other women, and unlike the norm at the time, she does not let anyone follow her into the r...