Juxtaposition In The Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” was written in 1894 and explores the position of women within the 19th century society. An interesting aspect of this short story is that it is an early example of feminism in literature. Chopin is subtle, but very effective, in criticizing marriage and the role and position of women during the Victorian Era. The purpose of this essay is to make an approach into the mythic constructions of femininity in this Kate Chopin’s story but also to explore how the author influences the reaction of the reader by using several literary techniques. This essay analyzes the literary techniques employed by Chopin in “The Story of an Hour”. One of the most important aspects of “The Story of an Hour” is the setting in which the story develops. The setting is “the time, place and conditions in which the action takes place” (Merrian-Webster). There is textual evidence to let the reader know that this short story develops in the Victorian Era during the 19th century. “It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received.” the reader could associate railroads with the 19th century. Another subtle examples of textual evidence are the fact that Richards was …show more content…
This technique is defined as “the act or instance of placing two or more things side by side” (Merriam-Webster). In “The Story of an Hour” there is a clear example of juxtaposition when Mrs. Mallard is thinking about her husband’s funeral. The juxtaposition is very clear in the body language of the characters. “she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment […] And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome”. By contrasting two very different actions, Chopin was able to represent the changes that Mrs. Mallard expected after her husband’s