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Literary Analysis: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

The Story of an Hour Analysis: Introduction

This is the story of a woman who appears lively than ever when she thinks her husband is dead
and dies when she learns that he is alive. Kate Chopin's (1894) The Story of an Hour gives
insights about life and death, marriage and more by using significant literary devices and symbols.
This paper analyses the story in every aspect to explain its plot structure, characters, theme, and
symbols. Through the main character Louise Mallard's exaggerated and somewhat cruel response
to her husband's assumed death and "resurrection", Kate Chopin depicts the limitations of the
marriage institution and the domestic sphere's imprisonment for women in 1890s America.

The Story of an Hour Setting

The Story of an Hour has been strongly linked with the ideals of the women’s liberation movement
of the 1960’s when feminists took a stand to fight to give women more freedom in America. The
reason “The Story of an Hour” was an important piece of literary work at this time was because of
its radical story. In the story, this housewife who has been confined to the social norms of the
obedient wife, has an unorthodox reaction to the death of her husband she anticipates her
newfound freedom from the suppression of the husband, of men and becomes invigorated by it.
This idea is one of the key values of the bus The Story of an Hour” was an important work to show
a woman’s break from the norm of society.

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The Story of an Hour Characters
Mrs. Louise Mallard
Mrs. Louise Mallard is the protagonist of the story. Si introduced as being “afflicted with a heart
trouble”, which is who great care is taken in telling her of her husband’s death. She mour her
husband, but then begins to feel relieved and liberated.
Mr. Brently Mallard
Mr. Brently Mallard is the husband of Louise Mallard. He is assumed dead until the end of the
story when it is revealed that the news of his death was a mistake. While we do not really meet
him or learn much about him, it is assumed he is the typical husband of the time period. He is out
working and travelling, with his wife home caring for his home.
Mushephine
Mushephine is Louise’s sister who tells Louise of her husband’s death. She embodies the feminine
ideals of the time, acting as the picture perfect wife figure. She is overly concerned about her
sister because according to the standards of the time, she feels this should ruin her world.
Through her, we see the norms of the time period contrasted to the rebellious reaction of Louise.
Richards
Richards is Mr. Mallard’s friend and is the first person to hear of Brently’s death, coming over to
inform Louise safely. He represents the standard image and expectations of the man during the
time period responsible for protecting women. However, he fails which could have been a bit
controversial for the time period.

Body Paragraphs
First, we will take a look at our characters. Our main character, Louise Maillard, is a woman with
heart disease. She thinks differently of women's place in the social structure in 1890s America.
She also disagrees with the marriage institution. She believes that the relationship between a
woman and a man is based on restricting one another. However, she doesn't reveal these
thoughts. She pretends like she doesn't have any problem with her societal role. When she was
informed that her husband is dead, she acts accordingly, thinking how every woman would act.
She immediately takes the position of a devastated person, jumping into her sister’s arm. Her later
reaction was acting like a newborn when she was alone, speaking to herself how free she is now.
These explicit reactions show us she is hysterical and a very emotional person. At the end of the
story, this deduction reveals itself when she dies as a result of her feelings.

Our side characters consist of Brent Maillard, the husband of Louise. Although Louise tells us that
they loved each other and Brent always cared for her, his marriage institution position makes him
an "oppressor" for her. Josephine, who tells Louise that her husband died and who is her sister.
Lastly, Richards, a friend of Brent, also first saw the news about the train accident.

Secondly, we will explain the plot structure and the style used by Chopin. As its name implies, this
story tells an hour of the main character Louise Maillard's life. Accordingly, Chopin preferred short
paragraphs as the story itself is less than three pages. However, this exact reason makes this
story incredibly dense. Because the reader doesn't know anything about any part of the story,
every sentence gains importance and have to be read and interpreted carefully. The author's short
and compact style also makes the reader sense the emotionally overwhelmed Louise Maillard's
feelings.

At the beginning of the story, Chopin presents exposition, as Louise is lying on her bed alongside
her sister, Josephine, who is worried about the devastating news about Louise's husband. Our
rising action is where Richards and Josephine reveal the terrible news to Louise. Most of the

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readers think that Louise will cry and be devastated, Chopin shows the story's climax. Mrs Maillard
realizes that she is free now that her husband is dead. She screams happily through her window
that she is "Free, free, free!" (Chopin para. 11). We understand that her soul starts to fill with the
happiness of freedom (Dagenhart para. 6). The writing style also changes. In the part where she is
filled with joy, Chopin favoured positive words such as the blue sky or keen and bright. Susana
comments, "the scene is full of energy and hope" (para. 4).

The story's falling action is the point where Mr Maillard is back from his trip, thinking how strange
everyone looks so shocked. And the resolution is right after that, where Mrs Maillard falls dead on
the ground. Doctors said she died of "joy"; however, in reality, her death resulted from her
realization that the freedom she so eagerly wanted was never actually belonged to her.

The themes of the story are the hindered joy of freedom and the oppressive nature of marriage
institution. When Louise learns that her husband died, she doesn't think about crying even though
she loves him. She knows that she will weep and mourn later, but the joy of being independent
overwhelms her. After that, she is shattered by seeing her husband before her. The story
prominently emphasizes the dependent nature of marriage. For Louise to be free, the only way to
be a widow because society didn't appreciate divorced women (Dagenhart para. 9). When she
thought she is a widow, she prays to live a long life, where before, she complained that she would
have a long life. This story revolves around this theme as Louise felt happier than ever when she
thought the chains were gone.

Last but not least, we will have a look at the symbols that Chopin used. First, the heart disease of
Louise indicates both physical and mental condition. She is overwhelmed and oppressed by her
marriage; therefore, when she learns that her husband is dead, he can walk and run and scream
like she never even had heart disease. This signifies that her burden is gone. Also, the open
window represents the free and independent life Louise has in front of her. It can be interpreted as
the open window is the future of Louise.

The Story of an Hour: Conclusion

In conclusion, Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour tells the story of an oppressed woman under
the marriage constitution. The oppression enables one to feel joy when the main character
Louise's husband dies. This story is exciting and dense. To explain further, this paper analyzed the
characters one by one, broke down the story's plot structure, pointed its themes and finally
described given symbols in the story. Kate Chopin portrays the marriage's restraints and the
oppressiveness of the domestic realm for women in 1890s America using the lead character
Louise Mallard's embellished and cruel reaction to her husband's supposed death and his
"revival."

References
Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. , Vogue, 6 Dec. 1894.
Dagenhart, Natalia. "Literary Analysis of 'the Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin." Natalia Dagenhart
Website, 13 Sept. 2017.
Susana, Catherine. "Analysis of 'the Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin." ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 19
Mar. 2014, www.thoughtco.com/analysis-story-of-an-hour-2990475. Accessed 8 Apr. 2021.

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