The Story of an hour, a dream that did not come true
During a time when women had no voice, Kate Chopin wrote a delicate piece called "The Story of an Hour". Due to the name of the title,one can assume that this occurred within 1 hour, the hour that changed multiple people's lives. Let's start with the main character, Mrs. Mallard. A young, presumably attractive housewife with a heart condition. Upon learning of her husband's death, she locks herself in her room, and weeps briefly before the realization hits her. She is a widow, which means she no longer has a husband. She is no longer oppressed or considered someone else's property. Though she is aware that her feelings are taboo and she kind of feels guilty about feeling this newfound joy, she cannot but help feel free and overjoyed. She starts fantasizing about her new life and realizes that she will live for herself, with no baggage or anybody else to hold her down. She opens her window, and takes in the visual of nature, from the bright white clouds to the smell of rain, to the trees lined up and the birds singing from afar. One as a reader can envision the beauty of her surroundings, which brings her more joy. The open window signifies her new life of freedom and joy without worrying about the sorrows marriage has brought upon her. However, this joy was short-lived when her husband showed up alive. This causes her to get a heart attack.
As tragic as the ending is, this story brought awareness of the suppression women felt during those times. Like Mrs. Mallard, marriage wasn't meant to be something joyful. Most women married men they didn't love, often marriages were arranged with much older, less attractive men. Men made all the decisions in the household. Women were just seen as breeders and were just looked upon to be the servants, the caretakers of the family, the cooks, the maids, the sexually oppressed beings, and the ones who had to take their husband's abuses and infidelities. Women couldn't even get an education at this time, it was seen as taboo. It's understandable the joy Mrs. Mallard felt when she thought her husband was dead. She thought she was going to be free again. Tragically, her dream never came true. In a sense, her death was her only way to become free.
Good overview. We can say though that only Mr. Mallard's life was briefly changed... and in fact, was it changed? Another irony. The change took place only in the closed space of the room; the window was never a door, except in the imagination/spirit...
ReplyDeleteIt would also be interesting to ground the story more specifically in laws, social norms of the time, which would take a bit of research on the position of women, women's rights and so on in America in the late 19th century... the story is specifically set in the Midwest, though not obvious from the details, but may be significant that it is apparently not a coastal location, but landlocked (mostly apparent by the suggestion of other images and also by what is not mentioned--i.e., no mention of the vastness of sea, for e.g....)
Hi Vanessa, your post is extremely interesting, and you capture the challenges that women faced during the time of this story. You speak about how Mrs. Mallard fantasized in a room with no baggage or anyone to hold her down along with the open window having to do with the visual of nature. I spoke about this in my essay and in my post, I think you've captured this really well so overall I think this is a great post and I really enjoyed reading it so thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your insights, Vanessa. I read Hosna's blog first, where they note the significance of the door being closed. Reading your blog and noticing the importance you mention, regarding the window being open, really helps me to see a more profound meaning between the two, especially in comparison.
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