The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin in 1894. It describes a small episode from the life of a noblewoman, Mrs. Mallard, and her death. The plot of the story and the

help revising this essay with the comment embedded within the essay: revise this essay using the embedded comment within the essay: Short Story Analysis “The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin in 1894. It describes a small episode from the life of a noblewoman, Mrs. Mallard, and her death. The plot of the story and the topics it featured were quite different from the generally accepted norms of the time when it was written. [What were the generally accepted norms of the time when this short story was written? You need to elaborate on that.] Despite “The Story of an Hour” being quite short, Kate Chopin managed to convey important meanings and themes and the peculiarities of women’s life in the United States in the 19th century. The main character of the story, Louis Mallard, is a noblewoman and Brently Mallard’s wife. According to the story, Mrs. Mallard is “afflicted with a heart trouble,” so her sister Josephine gently brings her the news of Mr. Mallard’s death in the railroad accident (Chopin 756). Shocked and crushed with grief, Mrs. Mallard isolates herself in her room and continues to mourn. However, since this story is full of contrasting themes and events, grief later turns into joy. Mrs. Mallard is happy as she thinks of freedom from the marriage, she was not happy in: “She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!”” (Chopin 757). For the protagonist, freedom means the ability to live the life she wants. The opposing and swiftly changing mood in the narrative is an essential part of “The Story of an Hour.” This particular scene raises the problem of the freedom and unfreedom of women in marriage. The freedom and unfreedom problems were very relevant in the 19th century, particularly for the author. Kate Chopin was born in 1855, in America. She married her husband when she was nineteen and gave birth to seven children over the next nine years. However, when her husband died, she was left all alone to take care of her children for the rest of her life. Such situations were very common in America at that time. It is obvious that Kate Chopin went through the pain of losing an opportunity to live for herself because of marriage and expressed her feelings through her literary work, “The Story of an Hour.” Although Mrs. Mallard did not hate her husband, and even loved him, she did not feel free in the marriage. So, when left alone with her thoughts in her room, Mrs. Mallard’s heart filled with joy and anticipation of freedom from the “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” (Chopin 757). In the 19th century, women were expected to marry a man, give birth to children, and take care of them for the rest of their lives. Although women were discriminated against in many spheres, their unfreedom was most obvious in marriage, which was a form of control in those times. Women had very few rights compared to men and thus had to live by their husband’s will. This is unfreedom, which is why Mrs. Mallard was so happy to be free once again: “Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering. (Chopin 757). Louise’s grief and sorrow over the loss of her husband change swiftly to joy at her freedom from the pressure and misery of marriage. After that, another emotional swing happens in the narrative as Mr. Mallard appears at the doors of the mansion. He was far from the scene of the railroad accident and therefore did not die. His sudden emergence hit Louise’s weakened, ill heart, so she dropped dead of a heart attack. The final line of the story “When the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease of the joy that kills.” shows that another sudden emotional swing from seeing her husband alive killed Mrs. Mallard (Chopin 758). It is seen clearly that her husband and other side characters also play a big role in the plot. [Here, a transitional word of summarization or result will be beneficial since the idea in this sentence is a result of the events discussed earlier in the paragraph.] One of the most important side characters in the story is Brently Mallard, Louise’s husband. Although very little is known about him, apparently, Brently’s personality was not the reason for Louise’s unhappiness. She was genuinely and sincerely grieving when she thought he had died in the railroad accident. However, the pressure of their marriage and the socially accepted norms of women’s behavior in the marriage, are what made her unhappy and what brought joy soon after Brently’s “death.” Another side character is Richard; Mr. Brently’s good friend. He received the information about Brently’s “death” and delivered it to Louise’s sister, Josephine. Richards makes the story move with this action. It is also clear that Richards cares deeply about Mrs. Mallard since he tries to smooth the conversation with Louise about Brently’s “death” and “screen him from the view of his wife,” obviously being aware of her illness and her possible reaction (Chopin 758). [What does he say to smooth the conversation? Consider quoting or paraphrasing his words to establish your point here.] Josephine is Louise’s sister. There is very little information about her in the story; even her last name remains unknown, so it is impossible to say if she is married. Similar to Richards, she cares a lot about her sister, as she begs Louise to open the door of her room: “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door – you will make yourself ill.” (Chopin 758). Overall, although side characters in the story are not accurately described and are not described in much detail, all of them play an important role in the narrative. Brently and his relationship with Louise serve as the foundation for the plot. Richards, as mentioned, is the mover of this plot. Josephine is a classically supportive character, who is usually someone very close to the protagonist and takes care of them during the story. In conclusion, “The Story of an Hour” is what is called “a product of its time.” The tragic plot of this short story raises a problem that was urgent at the time when it was written, namely women’s unfreedom in marriage, and manages to reveal it briefly yet properly. Through Louise Mallard’s story, Kate Chopin gets the reader to know and feel the pressure faced by women in marriage during that era. Therefore, this short story can be called not only a skillful literary work but also one with an important societal message.