Introduction
The use of literary elements in the short story helps the narrator depict the characters’ state in detail. Metaphors are among the widespread literary features, allowing Kate Chopin to vividly represent the psychological state of the protagonist of “Story of an Hour.” The story’s main character, Mrs. Mallard, learns the news about the sudden death of her husband and feels that she is finally free. When her husband returns home alive, the woman cannot cope with the stress from the destruction of her dream about living as an independent person, and she dies from a heart attack. The story starts with the metaphor of the heart trouble Mrs. Mallard has and ends with the ironic use of the same literary element. It is possible to state that the metaphor of heart trouble is the central idea in Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour,” which represents a woman’s inability to live under the constraints the marriage imposes on her.
Discussion
Mrs. Mallard is described as a young woman whose appearance shows her health, but at the same time, it is written that she has severe heart disease. These descriptions are opposite to each other, which allows the readers to assume that the woman’s heart problems are not related directly to her physical health. For instance, the story starts with the following phrase: “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin). At the same time, she is described as “young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (Chopin). It allows us to assume that there is the heart trouble she has is the reflection of her problems in family life. The woman feels trapped in her marriage and is not allowed to express her free will, which corresponds to the views of 19th-century society on the female role. Therefore, the metaphorical description of Mrs. Mallard’s heart problem is a sign of the negative emotions she experiences in her family life.
When Mrs. Mallard learns that she has become a widow, she is excited, but her feelings are positive, even though she tries to hide them. She shouts into the open window that symbolizes liberty from the constraints of the marriage that she is finally “free, free, free!” (Chopin). It shows the readers that the news about the death of Mr. Mallard leads to the fulfillment of his wife’s dream about freedom. The peculiar issue is that the story ends with the same metaphor about heart trouble in a more ironic context. The narrator writes: “When the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease – of the joy that kills” (Chopin). Therefore, Mrs. Mallard honestly had heart problems, but her troubles were connected with her dissatisfaction with family life.
Conclusion
The use of the metaphor about the heart trouble the protagonist has allows the author to show Mrs. Mallard’s feelings concerning her marriage. These conclusions can be applied to the position of all females in 19th-century society in general. The use of the same literary decision in ordinary and ironic contexts shows the attitude of Kate Chopin toward the situation Mrs. Mallard faces. In other words, the woman’s heart problems reflected her inability to live freely in her marriage.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. Story of an Hour. VCU, 1894. Web.