Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. Mrs. Mallard is fighting oppression through not having the same rights as men in this period of the 1890s. Women didn’t have the right to vote while also having arranged marriages for which they can’t choose their own husbands. An analysis of “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin, uses the themes of death, freedom, and irony to show the struggles women faced in the 1890s.
The first theme in “The Story of an Hour,” is death. In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard’s husband, Brently Mallard, died in a tragic railroad accident. Kate Chopin tells us how Richard and Josephine gently broke the news to Mrs. Mallard about her husband’s death. Resulting from the news, …show more content…
Ever since Mrs. Mallard had found out about her husband’s death, she has felt free. While Mrs. Mallard was in her room alone, she saw patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds. This is when Mrs. Mallard started to overcome the death of her husband. She then became relaxed as blood coursed to every inch of her body. Mrs. Mallard is now beginning a new life. Chopin implies this by saying “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” (Chopin 65). Mrs. Mallard is beginning to realize the freedom and new life that she has now. She would have to live for herself. Chopin states “A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked it in that brief moment of illumination” (Chopin 66). Chopin expresses that Mrs. Mallard has looked past the death and had made a future bright for herself. Another thing Chopin said was “No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.” Mrs. Mallard felt free and could start a new life. Mrs. Mallard even carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory as she has found herself a new life. That’s why freedom is one of the major themes in this
The first theme in “The Story of an Hour,” is death. In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard’s husband, Brently Mallard, died in a tragic railroad accident. Kate Chopin tells us how Richard and Josephine gently broke the news to Mrs. Mallard about her husband’s death. Resulting from the news, …show more content…
Ever since Mrs. Mallard had found out about her husband’s death, she has felt free. While Mrs. Mallard was in her room alone, she saw patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds. This is when Mrs. Mallard started to overcome the death of her husband. She then became relaxed as blood coursed to every inch of her body. Mrs. Mallard is now beginning a new life. Chopin implies this by saying “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” (Chopin 65). Mrs. Mallard is beginning to realize the freedom and new life that she has now. She would have to live for herself. Chopin states “A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked it in that brief moment of illumination” (Chopin 66). Chopin expresses that Mrs. Mallard has looked past the death and had made a future bright for herself. Another thing Chopin said was “No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.” Mrs. Mallard felt free and could start a new life. Mrs. Mallard even carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory as she has found herself a new life. That’s why freedom is one of the major themes in this