Symbols In The Story Of An Hour

“The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin’s is a story for those readers who like short stories that contain much symbolism within it. Although this book is full of symbolism, it begs the question what do these symbols mean in this story, as well as how does it relate to Louise. The story of an hour is about Louise Mallard a woman who finds that her husband Richard Mallard has died in an accident. So after locking herself in her room for a while she eventually gets out only to discover that her husband Richards is really active and well. Louise then experience a heart attack and dies. While in her room Louise first closes her room door, then sits in front of an open window so that she may contemplate on her past. Although the text is referring …show more content…
The symbolism of that closed door is that Louise wants to be alone, so that she can decide how she really feels about her husband’s death. So in order to do this she needs to shut the world out so no one can detract her. So when Kate Chopin says that, “Louise went away to her bedroom and closed the door.” What Kate Chopin actually means is that Louise was shutting her mind so that she could think without hearing anyone or thing. Doing this will allow Louise as a safe place to deal with her depression. Which leads the second thing that Louise did when she stood in front of an open …show more content…
So when she stood in front of an open window Louise was actually putting all of her thoughts out in front her to see how she should feel about this situation, that is why when Kate Chopin writes “she was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free’” she was saying that after looking threw her thoughts that Louise began to realize that she could finally be herself. Which leads to the final question when its wondered when what does Louise mean when she repeats “Free, Free, Free.”
When readers read that Louise went to her room readers began to think that Louise is going to cry and sop, however, instead Louise feels a strange feeling about to possess her. While thinking about how she should respond to her husband’s death Louise begins to understand that she is instantly detached from holding out for any person and the chains from her past relationship are now discontinued. So Louise soon begins to repeat the word “Free, Free, Free” and she can finally do her own thing