The theme of freedom (Introduction)
The book “the story of an hour” majorly discusses how women feel about oppression and freedom in the society. Through this book, we get to see how the author was vibrant in delivery of her information to detail through the use of literary devices and convention of form and by the use of figurative language. The setting and plot play a significant role in describing the thoughts and emotions of Louise, who is both saddened and unexpectedly happy about the death of her husband. The author isn’t shy to voice out her views to the society about the oppression of women and the freedom they yearn for which wasn’t an issue people talked about freely at the time. It is through this that we analyze how the author used different conventions of forms, critical devices, and literary devices to pass across the message and themes at hand.
Feminism
Feminism is addressed where the females in the society feel deeply oppressed by men in the community even though Brantley was a ‘caring and loving husband’. After the death of her mother and husband, Kate channelled her depression into writing which was recommended to be therapeutic. Writing is one’s way of letting someone’s thoughts known and Kate dint shy from narrating using irony through Louise how deeply the women felt in marriages. Kate gave a taste of how freedom tasted with men out of the question, which was short-lived as Louise collapsed with a reported disease-of the joy that kills. Women feel oppressed by marriages as Louise felt that “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.”
Ethnic studies
Kate has been deemed as the pioneer of feminism in literature where she pinpointed the various practices of the society. Kate claims of how women were oppressed by men both mentally and physically, and it was not right to go against the norms of the community. The story shares the knowledge of the community on what is expected of women when the husband passes away. The lady is expected to grieve even during the burial ceremony and. We get to see the different aspects of marriages where also though there is love; there are inevitable conflicts that never cease to exist either caused by the lady or the man. The unions keep on moving even though the couple may face different challenges along the way. There are six children in question, and it is evident to see that it is the man has to go out and earn income for the sustainability of the family as the woman stays at home to take care of the children. The marriage is full of turbulence as Louise claims “And yet she had loved him–sometimes. Often she had not.” This claim shows that the woman felt like she was locked in a cage in that even though she loved her husband, she often hated him more.
Biographical criticism
The author’s life shows a certain level of relatability to what she mainly focuses on “the story of an hour”. Through the author’s experience, it is evident to note that the author lived in a generation of widowed women, her grandmother and great grandmother where she got passionate about advocating for women’s rights. After her husband’s death, Kate had sexual relationships with other men freely, which showed how the thought of freedom is so good to be a real scenario that a lady should desire to achieve. Louise already wished for long life despite thinking the previous day of how she long her life would have been in marriage and after learning of her husband’s death she was ready to accept it as the key to her freedom. Everything was finally getting better inside her mind and soul though she seemed to be scarred from the outside.
Psychoanalytical criticism
Louise sank into an armchair and eased physical exhaustion that haunted a body up to her soul. This tiredness showed how she was unhappy and exhausted of the roles expected of her as a wife. She now has the power in her hands to do as she pleases without a master in command. Louise breath new life into her soul through the delicious breath of rain and the top of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life. Even though Louise felt free reality still kept hitting her on what was to come next after the freedom when each time when seated motionless, a tear could well up in her eyes and shake her.
Compare and contrast two characters in a dramatic work (Josephine and Louise)
In the book, we get to see that Louise, who understood her sister’s health condition and passed information to her very carefully. We get to see that Louise was an intelligent woman and Josephine was very caring. Louise clearly understands the roles she has to play as a wife and is smart enough to know that she would cry during her husband’s funeral. When the news of her husband’s death is passed, she bursts out crying, which is expected of her, but her internal thought and feelings think otherwise. Josephine, on the other hand, cares so much about her sister Louise and knows the right approach to break the news of her husband’s death to her without causing harm to her health condition. She is worried about her sister harming herself after knowing of her husbands’ demise and keeps checking up on her not to hurt herself. Louise cares for her husband too but its though the pain of grief of seeing him laying there gray and dead that will make her really sad. The site of her husband shocks her to the reality that he is still alive, and she is genuinely not ready to accept that reality after already adjusting to her newly found freedom.
Conventions
Conventions of literature give meaning to every aspect of a story through the plot, setting, theme, conflict and the characters. The joy that kills is used ironically to mean that Louise died out of happiness by realizing that her husband was not dead. In the story it is evident that Louise died out of shock after realizing of how short-lived her dream of freedom was. By stating Louise heart condition of reacting to shock, the author foreshadows a tragedy that is likely to occur of the same. Louise later dies from the heart disease when she sees that her husband is safe and sound.
Over the year’s marriages are known to favour men who are deemed the superior head of the family, thus subordinating women as assistants. From the book “the story of an hour” it is evident to see how much Louise yearns for the freedom that is to come after her husbands supposed death.
Louise yearns for freedom even though she can’t speak so loudly about it. Her husband, who is loving and caring is the master of the marriage, and there is a silent conflict in the union where the lady silently celebrated her husband’s death. Louise feels a feverish triumph in her eyes as she slowly overcomes the struggle she had in the marriage.
The setting of the story plays a vital role in passing information where the author uses the landscape and scenery to explain the feelings that Louise had and how freedom felt. Louise stares at the patches of the blue sky appearing through the clouds as the author explains how the thoughts in her mind were intelligent and kept creeping uncontrollably into her.
The plot in the book reflects on the main character, Mrs Mallard who suffers from a heart condition which was in the company of her sister who was to break the news to her of Brently’s death. Richard was the bearer of the report and had made sure that it was her husband’s name he had seen on the list of those whose lives were claimed by the railroad accident. The news hit Louise hard, and she wails with “wild abandonment” as she headed to her room and sat on an armchair still shocked. One would expect her to be hysterical, but instead, she starts breathing in life as she celebrates freedom silently in her heart and the story suddenly takes a shift. Mrs. mallard, at this moment “saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” and felt that no will should be bent in another person’s favour. The story gives room for Josephine to appear to check up here and when they go down the stairs, they meet Brently who was already ‘dead’. The disbelief shocks Louise who collapses and dies on the spot of her heart condition.
Figurative language
Figurative language is prominent in this story when the author uses metaphors to give broader meanings to the feeling of Mrs. mallard. The author says that Louisa was drinking from an elixir of life she means that in the period she had she was tasting the eternal life that was going to be a part of her forever after her husband’s demise. Her sister, on the other hand, was thinking about how her sister may be feeling pretty bad after her husband’s death, whereas it was the complete opposite. Louisa pitied her sister, who never had the opportunity to experience such a life-changing event, and she felt like the goddess of victory.
Conclusively the theme of freedom is depicted in the book and the issues arising addressed figuratively. Louise ends up dying of her heart condition, which shows that even though she has the freedom of thought, it is not right to expect to reap benefits from ones supposed demise. The author talks of liberty as a feeling yearned for by women in the society but not earned. Is it right to think positively of an occurrence such as death even to the expense of a loved one also if it means that you acquire your freedom?