The telegram played a role in “The Story of an Hour” when Mrs. Mallard’s sister’s husband received a telegraph about the death of Mrs. Mallard’s husband. In the story it says “He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram” (Chopin 128). During this time one telegram wasn’t enough to find out if information was true or not so a second telegram would prove if the information was accurate (Foote 88). In the story, the second telegram proved that the accident really happened and that Mr. Mallard was on the list of killed passengers. The first message that was sent People from different towns could now communicate by a telegram was sent from Detroit, Michigan to Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1847. This telegram was sent
…show more content…
10-11). By 1870, Western Union sent millions of telegrams and by the 1890s, over 60 million telegrams were sent a year (Foote 86). With the telegram being a big hit during this time, that would’ve been the only way Mrs. Mallard would have found out about her husband’s death. Since it wasn’t clear where Mr. Mallard was during this accident, a telegram was a good way to send this information because there may have been a long distance between the railroad disaster and where Mrs. Mallard was located. The title of the story, “The Story of An Hour” is another reason that shows that a telegram takes a while to send information. At the end of the story Mr. Mallard shows up at the front door, alive. Which brings up the question, was the telegram fake? Or was Mr. Richards, Mrs. Mallard’s brother in law, lying about the whole incident? Maybe it could be both, he may have been lying about the fake telegram just to see what Mrs. Mallard’s reaction was. Also the word hour in the title of this story has a hidden meaning. All the events that took place in this story occurred within an …show more content…
Another invention that came later on in the late 1890s and early 1900s was the invention of the telephone. Invented my Alexander Gram Bell, his invention was made in 1876 but didn’t become popular until later in the 1890s. Mainly because telephones required wires that had to be ran and most people and businesses who were not located in urban areas did not have access to these wires (“Transportation and Communication” par. 12). With these technology changes, married couples were mainly affected because they spent less time together in person and more time traveling and communicating through telegraphs. Without these technologies such as the railroad and the telegram, this story would have played out differently. Also if there would have never been any telegrams during this time, Mrs. Mallard would have never found out that an accident ever had occurred and her husband was dead. He would return home as normal and Mr. Mallard’s death would have never crossed Mrs. Mallard’s mind. If there was no telegram, Chopin’s audience would not know of Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition and how thrilled she would be of her husband’s
10-11). By 1870, Western Union sent millions of telegrams and by the 1890s, over 60 million telegrams were sent a year (Foote 86). With the telegram being a big hit during this time, that would’ve been the only way Mrs. Mallard would have found out about her husband’s death. Since it wasn’t clear where Mr. Mallard was during this accident, a telegram was a good way to send this information because there may have been a long distance between the railroad disaster and where Mrs. Mallard was located. The title of the story, “The Story of An Hour” is another reason that shows that a telegram takes a while to send information. At the end of the story Mr. Mallard shows up at the front door, alive. Which brings up the question, was the telegram fake? Or was Mr. Richards, Mrs. Mallard’s brother in law, lying about the whole incident? Maybe it could be both, he may have been lying about the fake telegram just to see what Mrs. Mallard’s reaction was. Also the word hour in the title of this story has a hidden meaning. All the events that took place in this story occurred within an …show more content…
Another invention that came later on in the late 1890s and early 1900s was the invention of the telephone. Invented my Alexander Gram Bell, his invention was made in 1876 but didn’t become popular until later in the 1890s. Mainly because telephones required wires that had to be ran and most people and businesses who were not located in urban areas did not have access to these wires (“Transportation and Communication” par. 12). With these technology changes, married couples were mainly affected because they spent less time together in person and more time traveling and communicating through telegraphs. Without these technologies such as the railroad and the telegram, this story would have played out differently. Also if there would have never been any telegrams during this time, Mrs. Mallard would have never found out that an accident ever had occurred and her husband was dead. He would return home as normal and Mr. Mallard’s death would have never crossed Mrs. Mallard’s mind. If there was no telegram, Chopin’s audience would not know of Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition and how thrilled she would be of her husband’s