"The Story of an Hour- by Kate Chopin Commentary "The Story of an Hour- is a startling portrayal of a woman's awakening upon receiving news of her husband's death. Written in the 19th century, this was very much considered a feminist' story, ... turned out that there had been a mistake, and this was all a false alarm. Louise died of joy that kills. This statement could be compared to the punchline of a joke. At this point, readers know that the joy' wasn't for her husband's return. This abrupt cessation of joy is the ultimate cause of her death. Had she not indulged in such shocking thoughts...

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... for herself"(Trotter 153) instead of her husband. She tries to reject this feeling at first, but then starts to give into it until it is a "monstrous joy"(Trotter 156) that consumes her. When she finally leaves the room in triumph, she finds out that her husband is alive. She dies from the shock of finding ... resented him for having a "powerful will" capable of "bending hers".(Chopin 445) The more Louise Mallard reflects on the event that happened, the more she feels the joy of freedom rather than the remorse of loss. She looks out the window, which represents her new-found freedom. Sh...

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... here and there through the clouds." Since the clouds are dispersing, we can sense that she is no longer in the "storm of grief" and a new joy is coming into her independent life. Her troubles are no longer present. With the death of her husband, Louise quickly finds happiness. The new ... joy is her freedom and her new life. A freedom that would not be seen if Mr. Mallard was not "dead." The images of the descriptions of the trees, ... to compare Louise to a "child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams." It appears as though those tears are of happiness and the jo...

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... Mallard. Upon learning of her husband's death she is immediately overcome by sadness. However, once she is alone she allows herself to experience her feelings of joy at the prospect of being free from "repression." She is no more able to staff off the feeling that was approaching her than trying to stop the ... feelings. Once she had abandoned herself the word "free" had escaped from her lips. She did not deliberately want it but it had come anyway. Unmistakably, a joy over took her. Not that she would not be sad again, but for now she was like a bird let out of the cage. As she was pro...

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... internal confusion as to how she would feel about her husband's death. A part of her says that she will miss him while a part of her is shouting for joy on her new found freedom. Figures of Speech Paradox It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. When ... the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills. Metaphor When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. ... feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwitt...

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... her from her room where she has secluded herself. Josephine believes that her sister is going to make herself ill worrying all alone. On the contrary, Louise is feeling the joy of freedom for the first time since she has been married to her husband. While in her room, she is not becoming sick as her sister believes, but is in ... was obligated to stay with him. One can see resemblances of this unhappiness in "The Story of an Hour". It says "she had loved him - sometimes". That and the pure joy that we witness after Louise learns of her husbands death demonstrates that this clearly was a...

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... utilized taste imagery in The Story of an Hour. While mulling over the verity that her husband died at the railroad accident, Louise tried to push away the feeling of joy that was enveloping her. Yet when she let herself go, she felt as if she had "[drank] in [the] very elixir of life". The Realists of the Gilded Age wanted ... does happen in the story, but as if a final kick at the Romantics, the main character is killed by Kate Chopin. Louise died, not from the joy of her husband's return, but from the joy leaving her heart so fast because of her husband's return. Through the use of i...

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... for any character. A woman with small children who lost her husband would face extreme hardships without the support of close family members. One who happened to be down on their luck would not find much sympathy among their peers even with children. Kate Chopin was one of these individuals who was down on her ... luck with six children. But fortunately had the support and comfort of her mother for a short period before her mother passed away. A friend advised this mother of six children that writing ... ...

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... the new opportunities she will be able to experience, she becomes joyful. Only then, she realizes her husband is at the door and is alive. With this realization all the joy that is on the inside dies and so does she. The effects of limited opportunities of being a homemaker are evident in two of Chopin's stories, "The Story of an Hour ... someone opening the door. It is Louise's husband; he is alive and well. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for Louise's heart and she dies of the "joy that kills" (863). In this story, Chopin's main character is a woman today's society would cal...

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... the way that she does. The doctors who examine Mrs. Mallard also represent society. In regards to Louise's death, the doctors deduce, "That she had died of heart disease----of joy that kills" (Chopin 245). The doctors" faulty analysis of Louise's death demonstrates society's expectation that the woman cannot be happy without a husband. What the doctors and other characters fail to ... realize is that Louise did not die as a result of her joy; she died to preserve her joy. "The Story of an Hour" ironically details a woman's path to freedom from social and personal restrictions. Kate Chop...

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... were in 1894. When Louise Mallard is informed that her husband has past away she appears to be devastated by the news, but when left alone she is overwhelmed with joy. She dies immediately after realizing that her husband is still alive. This story would not be probable in the 21st century because women are able to maintain their individuality and ... very little rights as individuals. A woman would be forced to obey her husband and follow his orders because of monetary comfort, social status and acceptance by society. Chopin justifies Louise's joy over her husband's death stating: "The...

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... became emotional at the realization of her husband's death. After awhile she went to her room to be alone. It was then that Mrs. Mallard suddenly became filled with somewhat joy and repeated the words, "free, free, free!" Ultimately, another example of irony is when Josephine finally got Mrs. Mallard to come out of the room and not be alone anymore ... screen him from the view of his wife, Mrs. Mallard. The last line of the story states, "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease---of joy that kills." Mrs. Mallard had died at the sight of seeing her husband alive aft...

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... his widow."" (3). Mrs. Mallard obviously grieved at first after hearing that her husband had died, but her feelings turn to joy after running to her room and staring out the window. Chopin tells the reader of Mrs. Mallards new found joy of no longer being married by stating "But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that ... , and assumes that the sight of her husband walking in the door caused her to have a heart attack. The doctors inform everyone that "she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills."" (20). There are many similarities in these two stori...

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... to act. After her husband died "Chopin insisted upon assuming his managerial responsibilities" of his business (Katherine 2). These events may have led to Kate's respect for "the individuality, freedom, and joy" that seem to be present not only in her life but also that of her characters. The main character is first only known to us as Mrs. Mallard. This may ... 's "kind, tender hands folded in death," but she also realizes that for the first time in years she actually wants to live" (Miner 1). She begins to feel a certain amount of joy at the thought of freedom. She will no longer have ...

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... to act. After her husband died "Chopin insisted upon assuming his managerial responsibilities" of his business (Katherine 2). These events may have led to Kate's respect for "the individuality, freedom, and joy" that seem to be present not only in her life but also that of her characters. The main character is first only known to us as Mrs. Mallard. This may ... 's "kind, tender hands folded in death," but she also realizes that for the first time in years she actually wants to live" (Miner 1). She begins to feel a certain amount of joy at the thought of freedom. She will no longer have ...

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... to act. After her husband died "Chopin insisted upon assuming his managerial responsibilities" of his business (Katherine 2). These events may have led to Kate's respect for "the individuality, freedom, and joy" that seem to be present not only in her life but also that of her characters. The main character is first only known to us as Mrs. Mallard. This may ... 's "kind, tender hands folded in death," but she also realizes that for the first time in years she actually wants to live" (Miner 1). She begins to feel a certain amount of joy at the thought of freedom. She will no longer have ...

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... to act. After her husband died "Chopin insisted upon assuming his managerial responsibilities" of his business (Katherine 2). These events may have led to Kate's respect for "the individuality, freedom, and joy" that seem to be present not only in her life but also that of her characters. The main character is first only known to us as Mrs. Mallard. This may ... 's "kind, tender hands folded in death," but she also realizes that for the first time in years she actually wants to live" (Miner 1). She begins to feel a certain amount of joy at the thought of freedom. She will no longer have ...

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... the new opportunities she will be able to experience, she becomes joyful. Only then, she realizes her husband is at the door and is alive. With this realization all the joy that is on the inside dies and so does she. The effects of limited opportunities of being a homemaker are evident in two of Chopin's stories, "The Story of an Hour ... someone opening the door. It is Louise's husband; he is alive and well. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for Louise's heart and she dies of the "joy that kills" (863). In this story, Chopin's main character is a woman today's society would cal...

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... marriage and all of its glory, but in reality, this is not always the case. Whereas it seemed to Richards, Josephine, and the medical staff that Mrs. Mallard suffered from "joy that kills", as readers we know this is not the case. This is shown through numerous examples of Mrs. Mallard's reaction upon hearing of her husband's demise. One such example ... that the "vacant stare and look of terror went from her eyes"; it goes on to say, "She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as tri...

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... of view in this story is omniscient. The reader needs a "God-like" voice to understand Louise's thoughts and feelings. The contrast of the sad news of death and Louise's inner joy is what makes the story interesting, and without an omniscient view, the story is pointless. If first person or dramatic point to view was used, it would be just some ... lady who is heartbroken upon news of her husband's death, and dies of joy when she surprisingly sees him. When an omniscient point of view is used, the reader sees a woman who is beyond happy that she is "Free! Body and soul free!" And ... o...

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... death. During that period of time in the late 1800's, women were only given freedom if their spouse died. For Mrs. Mallard, even with her heart condition is full of joy with this news of her husbands. She sits in her rocking chair, looking outside of her window and dreaming about the coming future. She is swept off her feet with ... the stairs, she saw her husband, Brently, he was still alive. Louis, already a patient of heart disease, could not survived the trauma! Was she too happy to see her husband? "Joy that kills"( Chopin 297). The doctors tell that because Louis" heart was weak, ...

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... the restraint that her society has on her. With this ending Chopin's novel moves from an inspirational story, rousing its readers to "wake up" to their true selves, to a social commentary, criticizing societies and cultures that ...

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... her works on the women in patriarchal times. "Not only Edna Pontellier, the rebellious heroine in The Awakening, but also the independent minded women in her Creole stories received extensive commentary- (Brown page 1). Critical readings of Chopin's works often note the tension between female characters and the society that surrounds them. "In one group of stories men and women are already ... ...

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... text when Mrs. Mallard's enthusiasm of her new found freedom was described, "Her pulse beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body." (p.34) The commentary in Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama also pointed out the author's diction to lay the foundation for irony. For example, the word "abandon" was used in two different situations ... ...

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... turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems. (Chopin) This symbolizes that the rain leaves the world a happier and more beautiful place, just as the passionate lovers part with joy in their hearts. He turned and smiled she laughed aloud. (Chopin) The storm is not only natural, but also powerful, like the passions it symbolizes. while there passions, like the ... storm are strong, they are not destructive, instead the affair gave Calixta and Alcee joy, and everyone was happy. (Chopin) In these stories, Chopin uses physical setting to symbolize emotions of characters; happine...

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