Marriage In The Story Of An Hour

“The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin, tells of Louise Mallard’s final hour, in which she claims and loses her freedom all too soon. Mrs. Mallard’s liberation is granted at the supposed tragedy of her husband 's death, the only power strong enough to terminate a marriage in the 1800s. In the 19th century, the constraints of marriage for women like Louise was not an anomaly, but rather felt by married women nationwide. "The Story of an Hour" highlights the oppressive nature of 19th century marriages by demonstrating Louise Mallard’s repression and eventual liberation at the loss of her husband, Brently. Through Chopin’s employment of symbols, Louise’s ironic reaction to her husband’s death is foreshadowed in the first line of the story. Chopin …show more content…
The entirety of the story takes place in Louise and Brently’s house. After Louise’s sister Josephine breaks the news to her, Louise excuses herself to her room upstairs. It is upstairs where she finds solace. There she seeks rest in a “roomy armchair,” (Chopin 278) where she can view the “open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air” (Chopin 278). Louise can now appreciate the beauty of life when “it was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long” (Chopin 278). Selina Jamil argues that Louise’s awakening was the subject of her emotions rather than rationality, in her essay, “Emotions in The Story of an Hour” with the statement “...when she hears the news of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard’s obliviousness to the beauty of life breaks down under the powerful impact of emotion” (para. 2). Louise’s removal from her marriage was like a butterfly’s escape from its cocoon, and Louise emerged with the perceptiveness and joy she was denied under the reign of her husband. The “new spring life” and rain symbolize Louise’s rebirth as a woman out of marriage and into freedom. Introduced as a feeble protagonist with a heart affliction, Louise is now compared to a “goddess of Victory” with a “feverish triumph in her eyes” (Chopin 278). The possibilities of a life without Brentley excite Louise and she …show more content…
Louise died of “heart disease-of joy that kills” (Chopin 280). After relishing in the possibilities of her future without a husband, the shocking reality that she will never know the joys of such a life beyond the hour she had just experienced, ultimately kills her. Denied the permissive ideals of the 21st century, in which the divorce rate is over 50 percent, women of Louise’s time did not have the freedom to end their marriage. These statistics show that the success of marriages has not necessarily decreased, but rather society’s tolerance has