Feminism In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is a fictional piece that chronicles the aftermath of a woman hearing that her husband is dead. The protagonist, Mrs. Mallard becomes afflicted by the news and seeks alone time to cope with the loss of her significant other. Upset, Mrs. Mallard retreats to her room where she has a revelation that changes her complexion towards the death of her husband. Instead of being filled with grief, Mrs. Mallard becomes calm and relaxed with a new outlook on life. However, when Mrs. Mallard heads downstairs to rejoin her family, she sees a man walk through the front door. Husband Brently Mallard enters the house only to bear witness to a piercing cry and his wife drop dead. Joseph Kelly denotes that the intricacies of Chopin’s work “helped energize feminists in her own day and continues to do so today,” (Kelly 99). The point of this paper is to argue the notion that “The Story of an Hour” is a piece of literature that unintentionally opposes the idea of feminism through the relationship between Mrs. Mallard and her husband. In an …show more content…
Mallard and her husband. Mrs. Mallard’s grieving process shows that she embraced her husband and would not want to have a different, more independent lifestyle. The Tilburg University results regarding why we cry support the notion that (unlike Chopin’s portrayal) Mrs. Mallard is a dependent woman who is attached to her husband. Mrs Mallard’s seclusion from her family continues to support that idea with the reflection of her love status with Brently. Omitting the love component from the story would make readers think that Mrs. Mallard is a changed woman (from the ‘possession’), but the disclosure gives way to the idea that she values a caring, dependent lifestyle. Although Chopin tries to make Brently an opposing force towards Mrs. Mallard, the two love and care for each