Keisha Wallace
Oppressed Feelings in “The Story of an Hour”
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is a short story fiction. The story is extremely short in length, but has a great impact in meaning. “The Story of an Hour” is about the protagonist Mrs. Mallard who finds out her husband has died in a train wreck. At first, Mrs. Mallard is over whelmed with sadness but then a rush of excitement comes over her because she now realizes that her husband’s death has freed her. The joyous reaction to her husband’s death is understandable when one evaluates how women were treated in those days. Many women were forced into marriage not for love but for acceptance and tradition. Mrs. Mallard put up a false demeanor to be accepted in society and tradition and buried her true feeling because that is what women where taught to do in the time.
The title of the story refers to everything that has happened within only one hour. Mrs. Mallard felt happy, free, and thought of the future, and died all in an hour. The setting is in the 19th century, which is important to the theme of the story, because at that time women were controlled by their husbands. Marriage was more about stability, social status and acceptance. It was not about love. A Few characters were mentioned in the story, Mrs. Mallard, her sister Josephine, Richard the husband's friend, and Mr. Mallard. The main character is Mrs. Mallard.
The first sentence of the story, it is mentioned that Mrs. Mallard has a heart problem, and her sister Josephine breaks the news to her in a caring and cautious way knowing that she has a sensitive heart. Mrs. Mallard broke down crying and went upstairs to her room to be alone. In situations like these, usually not want to be alone and would want to stay with their close family members and friends, but Mrs. Mallard reacted differently to the bad news. Being that she was hiding her true feeling she could not express them in front of her sister or Richards .She starts gazing...