Critical Analysis of “The Story of an Hour”
‘The Story of an Hour” is a short story authored by Kate Chopin and published in 1984. The story revolves around a woman named in the story as Mrs. Mallard. According to the story’s context, this woman allegedly lost her husband through a train accident, but the truth was later revealed that the husband was alive. Chopin develops the main idea of the short story through Mrs. Mallard and her husband, Mr. Mallard. This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss the oppression of women in the marriage institution and the effects of such oppressions in the context of “The Story of an Hour.”
“The Story of an Hour” mainly focusses on Mrs. Mallard and the marriage institution through her relationship with her husband, Mr. Mallard. Notably, both happy and sad moments alternate the life of Mrs. Mallard. Initially, this woman is unhappy because of losing her husband through the accident. However, as the story progresses, she terms this loss as a breakthrough in her life. After learning about her husband’s death, she was shocked to see him alive after a short period. Mrs. Mallard even went to the extent of destroying her life. Upon seeing her husband alive, Mrs. Mallard dies of a heart attack instead of being happy. Notably, this is a fundamental contrast that exposes the issues of oppression of women in marriage institutions and their effects.
In the story, Chopin addresses marriage institutions as being dominated by men. In this story, the main man, Mr. Mallard, did not treat his wife with dignity and according to her wishes. The author makes it known that Mr. Mallard only treated his wife well sometimes and not all the time. The author says, “And yet she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not” (Chopin n. p). Mrs. Mallard, in this case, was not satisfied with this marriage. Mr. Mallard dominated everything in the family and gave less attention to the suggestions given by his wife. Mrs. Mallard kept on lamenting on the treatment she got in this marriage. This depicts the reasons why she was peaceful, even after learning about the death of her husband. The only sorrow she had was because this man had died but not because of losing a close person like her husband. In summary, she never felt the meaning and the love of a husband in her life. This depicts the point that Mrs. Mallard was living a miserable life.
Mrs. Mallard was happy following her husband’s death, something that was not expected by the close people. Arguably, it is a surprise for a woman to be happy after the death of her husband. Chopin used this contrast to express how Mrs. Mallard yearned for her freedom that was denied by her husband. In the story, Mrs. Mallard says, Free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin n. p) In the context of this statement, this woman knew what she was celebrating the death of her husband but believed she was not at any chance of hurting herself. Instead, she thought that the husband was an important person to her, but their marriage had forced her to be a subject to him. Notably, this kind of oppression was against her will, which is a clear indication of the possibility that she had done numerous things against her will to please her husband.
As developed in the short story, Mrs. Mallard tells many things about who she was. Notably, this woman had a big desire for her freedom that was denied by her oppressive husband. The desire for freedom led this woman to initially enjoy her husband’s death before later learning that he was alive. Consequently, she was highly emotional after realizing that her freedom could be denied again by her husband since he was not dead as it was claimed. For this reason, she collapsed and died, leaving many surprised by what sparked the death of the person they thought could be happy. The author further develops this contrast by saying that “She had died of heart disease…of the joy that kills” (Chopin n. p). Mrs. Mallard could not bear the pain of having Mr. Mallard again in his life. I had thought time for her freedom had come, a joy that later killed him.
In conclusion, Mrs. Mallard could not handle her emotions as a factor that cost his life. Her husband was probably left mourning the sudden death of her wife, even though he never treasured her. He never gave his wife the love and attention that she needed, and thus he has to face the consequences of his deeds. In this story, Chopin expressed how women lived miserable lives under oppressive and non-caring husbands during the time she wrote this story. Notably, women undergo very painful situations when denied the freedom that they deserve in marriage institutions. Through the death of Mrs. Mallard, Chopin reveals that placing women under male dominance in marriage institutions was significantly fatal, as it could have adverse effects on both the oppressor and the oppressed.
Work Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour” (1894). Retrieved from: https://my.hrw.com/support/hos/hostpdf/host_text_219.pdf