Story Of An Hour Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In the short story by author Kate Chopin, “the Story of an Hour”, the main character shows her true feelings about her marriage after a false report about her husband’s death. Many readers of the audience point that Mrs. Mallard died from the joy of her husband’s arrival but an important aspect that is often overlooked is the ironic juxtaposition set up by the author to truly show her feelings. Mrs. Mallard was not in shock of joy but she was in shock of utter disappointment that ultimately lead to her death. Through the discrete details of their marriage, the author writes the message of marriage and love during this era in the American society. Through the actions of the main character, it is clear that her cause of death was because of …show more content…
Mallard for the audience to know.. The audience is informed the Mrs. Mallard has “heart disease”. This mentioned in first line in the story to stress the importance of her condition and as well as foreshadow further into the story. Her death from heart disease is described by the author as “a joy that kills”. The importance of knowing that Mrs. Mallard has heart disease prepares the audience for the ironic juxtaposition of hope and disappointment that explains the real cause of her death .The author wrote this to misdirect the audience on how Mrs. Mallard really feels about her husband. Mrs. Mallard exclaims that “life might be long” showing her gain confidence herself as an individual. Towards the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard confronts her reappearing husband with shock and disappointment instead of the joy. The ironic juxtaposition is now clear that while Mrs. Mallard seemed to love her husband sometimes, she felt trapped in her marriage and the only way out to freedom was death. Chopin gives the information in the beginning immediately, to foreshadow and add significance to Mrs. Mallard's death. The ironic juxtaposition of hope and disappointment was a reflection of what many women around this time experienced during marriage. Chopin is an example of many women during this age because her husband died in 1882 leaving her with six children. The irony shown in this story highlight the …show more content…
Men had much more freedom than women in the 1890s and the gap in gender roles was significant. After the attack of the thing, Mrs. Mallard realizes that she is now hopeful for her future and is free from her husbands grip and that she can now “live for herself”. This negative power that was trying to control her eventually stopped after she yelled out the words “free, free, free!”. Including her boost of confidence, she yells this out to emphasize her realization of her freedom and to show the significance in that many women including herself wanted freedom. She also exclaims “Free! Body and Soul” to show her excitement of the freedom that she will get in her life. Unlike many women in this era, she was now unrestricted from any other higher power male. Mrs. Mallard showed that through this time of reflection, she realizes how freedom and individuality