Essay#1 Kate Chapin, Story of an hour

 ENG 3000 Prof. Thomas L BI-WEEKLY ESSAY #1

                                                     “THE STORY OF AN HOUR”

                                                             By Kate Chopin

 1894 A short story that consists of misfortune, reflection, weight of life being expressed in narration of poor Mrs.Mallard. All with some of the first words saying, with a bad heart she took in the apparent death of her husband. A small world, with herself, her family for attempt to reassure for her health's sake during the loss of her lover who she swore in good health, and bad, until death to spend is trying to read the future where everyone is illiterate in the face of facts. The story hit home for feelings of a lost one, grievances that could change someone, their soul is no exception especially for ones you love. All being told, a sympathetic hook that struck first can catch any morals who read them.

A theme that could be interpreted from the story was - Life has many miracles of both life and death.- The main character. Mrs. Mallard,who the story is told around and of, was a sick plot of death, then life. She was told of her husband's death in a railway accident, news reached her by the name apparently written under victims of a newspaper. She grieved and felt the sky falling on herself for the world around her changed in a short period of time.Exhausted, dried of tears, sobs and weeps built up on her little heart was too much. On her last legs of life, her husband, walking through the door, is shown as if a grand ghost appears. Life appears, but at the same time so does death, taking the weak hearted wife away. The story is written in 3rd person of everyone who was involved, with small details that also points out significance within the story. An example foretelling the events of the story be “MrsMallard 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.” A tool the author used was foreshadowing, saying at the earliest with a warning, of a weak womens heart to be taken in great care, of a delicate situation. This proved later on to be the cause of death. In the reappearance of the husband, supposedly dead at first, showing death, now alive full of life, just for death to take the poor wife, all while doctors said, “in joy” of her heart. Another displayed way of the story being told through is symbolism. “here was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.” The scents, the air, the unsettling finger that Mrs.Mallard, can sense near but not exactly to be near. While broad, in the context of the story, it most certainly associated these sensations with the coming of death, of the false widow. 

The story's conclusion from another writer's perspective by Author:Jennifer HicksFrom:Short Stories for Students, certainly had in depth analyzing perspective of the story. The inclusion of her overview is much more focused on time period and gender roles while women being repressed in situations of marriage, referring to freedom and can even be said as “opportunity” that is written and this time. More specifically one of Hicks' lines say grieving as she cries with “wild abandonment.” We find ourselves a bit surprised at this point. Surely a woman in a troubled marriage would not carry on in such a manner. In this instant, Chopin has hinted that a problem exists, but also that Mrs. Mallard is not “paralyzed” by the significance that she is alone.” The mentioning of problems that are referred to in the marriage between Mr and Mrs Malland, yet not explicing telling specifics within the story is seen as being too concentrated by Hicks and too manly focused within the review on their gender. Without a doubt having some viability, tho i agree yet see it differently. The focus of the story I saw much more is focusing on the events alone within the story, despite the hardships Mrs.Mallard faced, the troubles of women and husband may or may not have had of these times. The presence of death is mentioned, within Hicks review but without a doubt having an impact on the feelings, possibilities that could have happened, still lead to grieve and sadness of the story’s telling. As living, feelings of both happiness, and sadness in its forms, directly within the story, and indirectly can be seen. All back to my point of Life and death, its twists and challenges that have been seen in this story, could only be one of them. 

Source:

Hicks, Jennifer. "An overview of “The Story of an Hour”." Short Stories for Students, Gale, 2002. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420007762/LitRC?u=cuny_kingsboro&sid=LitRC&xid=32a4712f. Accessed 22 Mar. 2021