The short story written by Kate Chopin in 1894 raises essential feminist issues. Despite the short form of the literary work, it successfully and powerfully conveys the deprivations American women of the end of the nineteenth century experienced due to the dominantly patriarchal society in which they lived. Meticulously using literary means, Chopin creates an ambiguous, complex main character that embodies women’s search of identity under the oppression of men. The theme that the author develops behind the story is a woman’s identification of self under the oppression of patriarchal society. The plot, characters, symbols, and setting work in unity to deliver this theme to the reader.
The plot of the short story is linear and allows the author to provide a context to the story. The exposition introduces a young woman with a severe heart disease named Mrs. Mallard, who is being told that her husband died in an accident. As the wife first cries in grief, she starts to experience an epiphany, which is the climax of the plot. Locked in her room, Mrs. Mallard starts to realize that although she feels sorry for her husband’s untimely death, she is happy because she is finally free. Her sister confuses Mrs. Millard’s excitement about her free life with the hysterical reaction to the bad news. However, when the main character leaves the room, she sees her husband, whose death was false news. She understands that her freshly obtained freedom is gone and dies of a heart attack. Thus, the plot defines the main points in the story that contribute to the development of the theme.
The third-person narration of an omniscient author provides clarity and definition in the emotions and thoughts Mrs. Mallard experiences. Indeed, Chopin writes the following: “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (Chopin par. 8), which demonstrates the author’s superior knowledge about the character. Such a point of view of the narrator leads the readers through the story and helps emphasize essential elements in Mrs. Mallard’s experience and allows for building the character.
The main character of the story has a complex personality of a strong, intelligent, independent woman who, at the same time, is oppressed by her husband and is unhappy in her marriage. Not only her youthful appearance reflected “certain strength” but her willingness to experience the new independent life that would follow after her husband’s death (Chopin par. 8). When the author describes Mrs. Millard’s thoughts about her life without her husband, she states that “there would be no powerful will bending hers.” (Chopin par. 12). This line demonstrates that the authority of a man in the family oppressed the freedom of the young woman who would feel much happier alone.
Most importantly, the understanding of her final freedom and independent unburdened with marriage life that was in front of Mrs. Millard is the essential part of the story that represents the core of the theme. Indeed, as the main character begins to comprehend her epiphany, she repeatedly says “free,” the word that means the most valuable asset in her life. Conveying this “monstrous joy,” Chopin vividly describes the main character’s physical experience (Chopin par.11). Indeed, “the look of terror” was in her eyes, “her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” as she realized the ambiguous feeling of happiness (Chopin par. 10). Strong words like monstrous and terror amplify the power of emotions the heroine experienced and demonstrate how unbearable her life must have been in the marriage. Now, “she breathed a quick prayer that life might be long,” although only recently, the long life in front of her made her miserable (Chopin par. 17). The depth of Mrs. Mallard’s soul, her ability to cope with the seemingly unreasonable and inappropriate emotions of happiness characterize her as a strong and independent woman.
The setting and symbols also contribute to the development of the theme and the character. Chopin masterfully uses the means of symbolism to enhance the feeling of freedom Mrs. Mallard experiences as the aftermath of her husband’s death. One of the key symbolic elements that relate to the setting is the open window in her locked room. When the main character locks herself in the room, she “sinks” into a comfortable armchair in front of an opened window, through which she sees “the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” (Chopin par. 5). This square of the window represents the new opportunity, where patches of blue sky between the clouds represent the happiness of freedom she is about to experience. The setting plays an important and symbolic role in the ending of the story. When she went out of the room, she was a different person who “carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory” because of the obtained independence she so much valued (Chopin par. 18). Her husband standing in the living room meant losing freedom, which she could not survive.
In conclusion, the short story by Kate Chopin conveys a theme of a woman’s search for self-identity under the oppression of patriarchal marriage. The burden of Mrs. Mallard’s husband’s authority makes her miserable and unhappy, willing her life to be shorter. It is only on the background of his death that she realizes the misery and anticipates happy and free life only for herself. The reason for Mrs. Millard’s death was the loss of the joy of freedom when she realized her husband was not dead.
Work Cited
Chopin, K. “The Story of an Hour.” VCU, 2020. Web.