Symbolism In The Story Of An Hour

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In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Louise Ballard moves from hearing word of her husband Brently’s alleged death, to her own premature death. A literal and symbolic demise of a woman with a troubled heart, over a brief sixty minutes. Amid both incidents, Louise contemplates and embraces the rewarding opportunities of a husband-free life. It’s not the usual grief-stricken reaction a reader would anticipate a new widow to exhibit, especially in a short story set in a conventional Victorian background. However, not much about Louise’s thoughts and behaviors are typically standard. Chopin’s use of images indicates the newly changing ideas and perceived hopes of some women in the late 19th century, like Louise. Similarly, how a wife like Louise fantasizes or imagines a life, beyond the predictable. Symbols in the short story reveal the conflicting nature of Louise’s thoughts and responses after hearing of her husband’s death; reactions created from distorted perceptions, rather than actuality. Primarily, the story’s emphasis is on Louise, alone, as are the various symbols. An apt choice for a character portrayed as egocentric or self-centered. The images in the story represent Louise’s alternative realities of her life, and ultimately each image doesn’t represent just side of a meaning.

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