The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

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The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour is a short story that talks about the place of women in the community during the 19th Century. The fiction talks about Mrs. Mallard, a wife who had just received news that Bentley's husband had died in a road accident. On receiving the news from Richards, her husbands' friend, and her sister Josephine, she seems grief-stricken, and after wailing in her sister's arms, she left for her room. The author's tone changes, as Mrs. Mallard, who had seemed comfortable and at peace which is evident when Chopin describes the "delicious breath of rain" in the air (1). Kate Chopin, in her story, brings out the themes of freedom and marriage, which are dominant throughout the story. Different authors have further analyzed the text and how women were viewed during this period.
Chopin wrote The Story of an Hour in 1894 towards the beginning of a new century when society looked down upon women and was expected to stay home all day. During the period, the duties delegated to women were house management and rearing children. In the story, Mrs. Mallard is described to be "as powerless as her two white slender hands" (Chopin 2), an assertion which tends to show that women during this time were 'powerless" in society, and mostly in the presence of their husbands who were given the superior position in society. The situation of Mrs. Mallard is evident at the beginning of the story, where Chopin informs the reader that she, Mrs. Mallard, has "a heart trouble" (Jamil 218). In reference to Hicks, this statement can mislead the reader who might think that Mrs. Mallard had heart disease. However, the author wants the reader to see that Mrs. Mallard has a particular condition affecting how her heart functions, and the problem is portrayed later as the marriage, which prevents her from "living for herself." (Hicks). The situation of Mrs. Mallard presented here brings out the place of women in the 1800s and the hardships they faced.
The theme of freedom and repression is also evident throughout the story. Chopin attempts to bring out the friction between freedom and repression. Mrs. Mallard is deprived of her freedom, and the author shows how her thoughts, desires, and thoughts have been subdued. Mrs. Mallard is portrayed in the story as a social repression victim, which changes when she is informed of her husband's demise. Clearly, her husband Brently is traveling worldwide, evident from the fact that there was a railroad disaster in which they thought he had died. However, Mrs. Mallard, throughout the paper, is at home, and instead of going outside the house for a view of the outside, when attempts to see the outside through her bedroom window. A "comfortable armchair" faced the "open window" of her bedroom, implying that someone always sat on that chair, trying to get a glimpse of the outside (Chopin). This description of the sit facing the window is a clear indication of a lack of independence by Mrs. Mallard.