Shi 1 Yu Shi Professor Matthew Carpenter ENG 2212 November 24, 2019 The Story of an Hour: Cate Chopin Cate Chopin’s The Story of an hour is one that is not short of contradictions. The story presents a sad situation of a woman losing her husband in a railroad disaster. Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult things for any human being to handle. Death can make even the strongest of men to cry and feel hopeless. Thus, when the news of Mr. Mallard’s death reaches Richards, one of Mallards friends; he decides that he would not allow the information to reach Mrs. Mallard through some “less careful, less tender friend” to be the deliverer of such message to Mrs. Mallard (Chopin n.p). According to Richards, Mrs. Mallard is fragile, and the news may break her. Thus, Richards decides that he has to personally deliver the message to Mrs. Mallard in the presence of her sister. Just like it would be the case with anybody else who receives such a message, it was notable that Mrs. Mallard was initially shocked and devastated. Mrs. Mallard makes a request to her sister and Richards to allow her to get into her room, alone. Ordinarily, there is no reason to worry when a person asks for privacy during times of mourning. It would have been easy to imagine that Mrs. Mallard may have wanted to have some private time to mourn and reconcile with her new life. It is while she is in her room that Mallard gets a new perspective of her predicament. In her pain and devastation, Mrs. Mallard suddenly feels some level of freedom. She feels as if some heavy load has just been removed from her back. Apparently, the demise of her husband has made her feel free again. “When she abandoned Shi 2 herself, a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under the breath: "free, free, free!" (Chopin n.p). Suddenly, the tension and anguish that had captured Mrs. Mallard dissipated, and her face brightened. Her blood cooled, and his heart stops racing. In this story, the primary idea which Chopin wanted to pass was the beauty of freedom. Apparently, at the time when Chopin was writing this story, women were significantly controlled by men, and they may not have had space and life of their own. Their lives appeared to have been attached to the life of their husbands, and that might have had adverse effects on women (Rosen 19). Perhaps it is the feeling that she would ever be controlled by a man that made Mrs. Mallard have a sigh of relief. A Break from a Male-chauvinist Society As indicated in the introduction of this analysis, death is designed to hit people hard. When an individual loses a loved one, such as a husband, as it is in the case of Mrs. Mallard, they are likely to feel disoriented, confused, and devastated for quite some time. The problem with death is that it permanently plucks people from society, and it may take time to reconcile with the development. Thus, when it appears that an individual is not adversely affected by the demise of a person who may be classified as a 'loved one,' one is tempted to think that there is a significant problem. While it is notable that Mrs. Mallard is initially shaken and saddened by the untimely death of her husband, a new feeling creep into her soul when she is alone in her room. She suddenly feels free and happy. It is surprising that this feeling is happening just a short while after receiving the news. This new development in the perspective of Mrs. Mallard concerning the demise of her husband tells of the presence of deeply-entrenched problems in society. Shi 3 There is a sense in which the death of Mr. Mallard has opened the eyes of Mrs. Mallard. When she is sitting in her room, it appears as if Mrs. Mallard can quite clearly see things she has not been able to see before. She can suddenly see the serene and alluring vegetation. Chopin records that “she could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below, a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves” (Chopin n.p). Her eyes have suddenly opened, and she can see the beauty of the environment in which she lives. It rings a bell that these new realities are emerging after she has lost her husband. Perhaps there is a way in which the existence of her husband had prevented her from having a clear picture of her environment. That makes it incredibly important to conduct a critical analysis of the society in which Chopin lived and the extent to which the characteristics of this society affected her writing of this work. Chopin lived in a patriarchal society. This is a society that was controlled by men, and women had little to say. Since this work was originally published in 1894, it is incredibly important to look at the place of women in American society in the 19th century. For a long time, the social space of the United States has been characterized by the limitation of women. In much of the century, women were considered to be emotionally driven and weak, and therefore, they were not allowed to take part in mainstream society (Stearns 37). Society made sure that women were always confined to domestic responsibilities, such as taking care of the children. Women were not given an opportunity to take part in political and economic activities, and as a result, they ended up depending on men for a wide range of things. The oppressive nature which characterized the relationship between men and women in American society might have caused Shi 4 the apparent reaction of Mrs. Mallard. She might have felt relieved after learning of the death of her husband because it is possible that she was no longer going to be under the control of her husband. She was going to be free to make independent choices without looking over her shoulders to get the views of her husband. The reaction of Mrs. Mallard also reflects on the nature of the institution of the family in the United States at the time. While the family is an incredibly important social institution that plays an important role in the development of communities, there is evidence in this story that the American families in this period were founded on very weak foundations. It is easy to conclude that the power balance among the sexes in American society permeated the families and affected the relationship between men and women in the families (Norwood 18). The tradition where women were under the control of their husbands might have created an unwanted weight on women in the families, especially as a result of the fact that they get treated like less important members of society. Coming from the larger feminist group of writers of the time, it is easy to understand why Chopin wrote this story. The message clear in this story; it was intended to inform the maledominated society that time had come for women to get space in society (Finke 47). Women felt that men were the primary source of their tribulations, and they would even do better when they can make independent choices. While it is not prudent to imagine that Chopin wanted men to die so that they could reclaim their place in society, it is evident that the women wanted to chart their course away from the dictates of men. It is important to note that during the time when this story was published, women’s awakening was on the rise, and a significant number of women were coming up to voice the frustrations of women. Shi 5 The story is also a demonstration of the irresistibility of the changes which were going to take place in society. It is important to note that as Mrs. Ballard starts to see things from a new perspective, there is an element in her that seeks to resist it. Chopin records that “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air” (Chopin). While it is notable that even Mrs. Ballard, who was a victim of a male-dominated society, was reluctant to accept the change, it is also notable that the force was so strong that nothing could stop it. She accepts the change and allows the change to settle in her. Another perspective in understanding this story is that the time when women were under the domination of men was coming to a stop. The death of Mr. Mallard was symbolic of the death of a male-dominated society, and women were going to be free, the same way Mrs. Mallard felt free when her husband died. True to the perspective of Chopin, contemporary American society has changed so much that women have as much chance as men in pursuing economic interests as well as taking part in the political space. In conclusion, in the story, the story of an hour, the primary idea which Chopin wanted to pass was the beauty of freedom. Apparently, at the time when Chopin was writing this story, women were significantly controlled by men, and they may not have had space and life of their own. Their lives appeared to have been attached to the life of their husbands, and that might have had adverse effects on women. The oppressive nature which characterized the relationship between men and women in American society might have caused the apparent reaction of Mrs. Mallard. While it is notable that even Mrs. Ballard, who was a victim of a male-dominated society, was reluctant to accept the change, it is also notable that the force was so strong that Shi 6 nothing could stop it (Kusuma n.p). She accepts the change and allows the change to settle in her. Freedom was finally on the horizon for women. Shi 7 Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The story of an hour. (1894). Finke, Laurie A. Feminist theory, women's writing. Cornell University Press, 2018. Kusuma, Panji Ari. Liberal Feminism Values in Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour. Diss. Dian Nuswantoro University, 2015. Norwood, Vera. Made from this earth: American women and nature. UNC Press Books, 2014. Rosen, Ruth. The world split open: How the modern women's movement changed America. Tantor eBooks, 2013. Stearns, Peter N. Gender in world history. Routledge, 2015.
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