The Story of An Hour- Kate Chopin
Introduction
The primary text “The story of an Hour” by the author Kate Chopin is a set-piece reflecting on the issues of freedom and oppression in the perspective of marriage whereby in the late 19th Century, most marriages were seen by women as oppression as they were being subdued by their husbands and thus breaking free from marriage was considered freedom. The primary text revolves around the reaction by Louise Mallard to the news that her husband is dead. After being told of the death through a railroad accident by one of her husband’s close friends, she responds immediately with grief. After heading to her room, however, she realizes that she is finally free and happy now that her husband is deceased. This newfound joy excites her. She after that heads back downstairs, and not a second later, her husband enters the house safe and sound since he was nowhere close to the accident that day. The joy that Louise had quickly became shock, and as due to her heart problems, moments later, she died (Charters A. & Charters S.). On this basis, this research paper will discuss how the primary text represents the undermining and suppression of women in the society in the late 19th Century based on the context of marriage.
Based on the structure of the primary text, the characters in the story include Louise Mallard, who is the wife of Brently Mallard, Josephine, who is the sister to Louise and Richards, who was Brently’s friend. It is depicted that Louise the wife to Brently despite pretending to be sad on the news of her husband’s death, she was inwardly happy as she saw this as a brilliant chance and opportunity to become free from the bondage in which she was in (Charters A. & Charters S.). In the story, it is seen that Louise inwardly thought of how there would be no more, strong will that would be bending hers after the death of her husband, showing how she was undermined and oppressed by her husband. The fact that she craved for self-assertion and freedom over love to her husband shows how suppressed in the marriage she was. The settings of the short story are of the late 19th Century in the Mallard place of residence, at a time when feminism was something unheard of in society as women were viewed as inferior to the men and were to respect and obey them without question (Charters A. & Charters S.). The conflict of the story which also depicted the instance of suppression in marriage was through the principal character Louis Mallard who was seen to pretend to feel grief-stricken at the news of the death of her husband, but while she is alone, she is quite overjoyed at the prospect of being finally free from her husband (Charters A. & Charters S.).
To acquire deeper meaning and insights into the meaning and power of the primary text, biographical research on the author, Kate Chopin, is essential as it would illustrate the kind of cultures in society and personal experiences that the author grew up in to compel her to write the primary text. According to an oxford bibliography done by (Koloski), the author is regarded as among the most influential author of the 19th Century. Most of her popular fictions have over the years, been transformed into plays, songs, and even films. Going back to her early life, she was born in the year 1850 to Eliza and Thomas O’Flaherty, her parents in Missouri. Later on, in 1870, she got married to Oscar Chopin, and together they bore six children. After some hardships, Kate’s husband’s business failed, forcing them to relocate to another area, and a few years later, he passed on due to illness. After the death, Chopin, together with her children, moved back to St. Louis, Missouri, where she struggled to raise them. It was at this point that she decided to enter the world of literature after some interactions with various journalists, philosophers, and editors. Around the time when she started writing, society’s view of women was that they were inferior to men and were, therefore, to depend solely on men for their needs. It was thus difficult for her at first as she watched the undermining and suppression of many women around her. During the late years of 1890, her writings had become popular in America until 1899 when she released the novel “The Awakening.” Book reviewers openly criticized it, calling it vulgar (Koloski). This biography indicates that the author, Kate Chopin’s main intention was to portray the injustices women suffered at the hands of men during the 19th Century in the primary text, “The story of an Hour.”
Basing on critics of the short story, according to (Nur), women that are illustrated as characters in the stories of the primary text’s author are not satisfied by men shaping their lives according to their needs. These characters do not willingly accept traditions that favor such kind of conventions where the woman is portrayed as inferior to the man. The author, therefore, portrays equality and emphasizes on women fighting for their freedom (Nur). The critic article thereafter scrutinizes the role of feminist characters in the various works of Kate Chopin, putting a strong emphasis on how the characters contributed to the plot build-up and development (Nur). Through this critic, it is evident enough that the primary text represented the undermining of women in society.
Moving on, another critic review, by (Horner), claimed that most of the primary text’s author’s writings were solely on the context of the situations that occurred in the 19th Century. The journal further discusses that two main features, i.e., choice and modernism, guided Kate in writing her fiction stories. With that fact in place, the article discussed further works by the author, for instance, The Awakening, which among her most famous writings. Furthermore, the article claimed that similar primary texts by the author called to attention the issue of sexuality hand in hand with feminism (Horner). This review thus pointed towards feminism as a way in which the women can fight suppression and being undermined.
According to (Podlasli-Labrenz), the author Kate Chopin portrayed women as strong and adequately courageous in most of her fiction writings. The heroic women were frequently the out of the ordinary kind whereby they challenged, disregarded, and attempted to build lives of their own without any form of undermining and suppression (Podlasli-Labrenz). This means that the women came up with choices that defied and disregarded the very fiber of the society even though the repercussions of wifehood had already tied up their positions socially. This moves to show that the author was advocating against the mistreatment of women in society through her writings.
According to a review article by (Sabbagh and Saghaei), the primary text “The story of an Hour” is considered among the most influential by feminist critics. It has thus been used to illustrate how the intimidating and menacing nature of patriarchal doctrines have worked to undermine and suppress the rights of females and women in general in society (Sabbagh, and Saghaei). It is further argued that the death of Louise in the short story is a satire that is targeted at the sightlessness of patriarchy, where a woman’s thoughts are not considered. This being the case, the review depicts the struggles of women and patriarchy and how the author sought to address these challenges. Basing on a peer review article by (Rajakumar and Rajeswar), the writings of the author, Kate Chopin are a critique of roles concerning marriage and gender that frequented the 19th Century. Issues to do with marriage and the part the wife plays in domestication are highlighted. The short story “The story of an Hour,” according to the article, portrays the notion of marriage as filled with social and cultural standards (Rajakumar and Rajeswar). The review, therefore, is in line with the notion that the primary text depicts undermining and suppression of women in society.
In conclusion, the primary text “The Story of an Hour,” written by the author Kate Chopin, represents the undermining and suppression of women in the society in the late 19th Century based on the context of marriage. This is seen through the analysis of the structure, and meaning of the short story through bibliographic research on the author, together with reviews from various critics.
Works Cited
Charters, Ann, and Samuel Charter. Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th ed., Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2013, pp. 174-176.
Horner, Avril. “Kate Chopin, Choice and Modernism”. The Cambridge Companion to Kate Chopin, 2008, pp. 132-146. Cambridge University Press, doi:10.1017/ccol9780521883443.010. Accessed 30 July 2020.
Koloski, Bernard. “Kate Chopin”. American Literature, 2016. Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/obo/9780199827251-0007. Accessed 30 July 2020.
Nur, Dedi Rahman. An Analysis of The Feminist Characters in Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”. 2017, http://dx.doi.org/10.21070/jees.v2i1.687.
Podlasli-Labrenz, Heidi. “Revealing the Essential Self”: Sartrean Existentialism in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” And “A Pair of Silk Stockings”. An Interdisciplinary Journal of The South, 2016, pp. 62 – 78, https://library.jeffersonstate.edu/ld.php?content_id=50001804. Accessed 30 July 2020.
Rajakumar, Mohanalakshmi, and Geetha Rajeswar. “What Did She Die Of? “The Story of An Hour” In the Middle East Classroom”. Kate Chopin In Context, 2015, pp. 173-185. Palgrave Macmillan US, doi:10.1057/9781137543967_12. Accessed 30 July 2020.
Sabbagh, Mahmoud Reza Ghorban, and Mehri Ghafourian Saghaei. “Conjured-Up Reality Shattered: Examining The “Uncertain” Ideology Underlying Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour””. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol 158, 2014, pp. 296-303. Elsevier BV, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.091. Accessed 30 July 2020.