Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour"
In Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour", she tells the story of a woman named Mrs. Mallard who is told that her husband was killed in a train accident. This story was written in 1894, and gender roles were very clear between men and women. When they gave her the bad news, she reacted as she was expected to by crying and sobbing. But then she did the unexpected, she went upstairs by herself and told her family she wants to be alone. Women at that time were thought to be very fragile, so her family was there to take care of her. They were very worried when she would not let her in her bedroom.
The reason she wanted to be alone was because she felt something strange inside. She felt sad but that was not the strange feeling. She felt bad for her husband but that was not the strange feeling. She looked out the window at nature and started to feel something strange rising up in her throat. Before she knew it, a word came out of her mouth - free! She was surprised at that word but at the same time, she was excited because women at that era were never truly free while they are married.
She began to imagine her future, but she was confused and guilty. She admitted her husband was not a bad man, so she felt guilty that she was glad he was dead. However, she could not help feeling happy that no man would have power over her anymore. She was beginning to like the idea of freedom when her sister kept knocking on the door.
She opened the door and went downstairs with her family. At the same moment, her husband comes in the door, and he is very alive. The author tells us in the last sentence that Mrs. Mallard died. Her family thought her delicate heart stopped from the shock, but the author makes the reader wonder if her heart stopped because her new freedom was dead.
The gender roles of this era were very strict, and women had very little freedom. This author made the people of that time start to question these roles.
The reason she wanted to be alone was because she felt something strange inside. She felt sad but that was not the strange feeling. She felt bad for her husband but that was not the strange feeling. She looked out the window at nature and started to feel something strange rising up in her throat. Before she knew it, a word came out of her mouth - free! She was surprised at that word but at the same time, she was excited because women at that era were never truly free while they are married.
She began to imagine her future, but she was confused and guilty. She admitted her husband was not a bad man, so she felt guilty that she was glad he was dead. However, she could not help feeling happy that no man would have power over her anymore. She was beginning to like the idea of freedom when her sister kept knocking on the door.
She opened the door and went downstairs with her family. At the same moment, her husband comes in the door, and he is very alive. The author tells us in the last sentence that Mrs. Mallard died. Her family thought her delicate heart stopped from the shock, but the author makes the reader wonder if her heart stopped because her new freedom was dead.
The gender roles of this era were very strict, and women had very little freedom. This author made the people of that time start to question these roles.
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