After reading the short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, I noticed that Mrs. Mallard seemed to be portraying a feminist. Her erratic behavior after finding out about her husband’s death, the microsystem around her and the author’s own personal experience with marriage affect my thoughts on why I believe Mrs. Mallard is a feminist. Whether Mrs. Mallard was portrayed as a feminist on purpose or not, we can all agree that her behavior after finding out about her husband’s death was out of the norm.
One reason that makes me believe Mrs. Mallard is a feminist is because of her erratic behavior. One minute the narrator describes her as weeping with sudden, wild abandonment in her sister’s arms and then the next she’s repeating to herself …show more content…
Mallard was living in was very different to the microsystem we live in today. Back in the 1890s , the women’s rights movement had made a great amount of progress since it began in the late 1840s. However, the 1890s was a turning point for the movement. This is when the nation experienced a surge of volunteerism among middle-class women—activists in progressive causes, members of women’s clubs and professional societies, temperance advocates, and participants in local civic and charity organizations. These women were determined to expand their sphere of activities further outside the home which helped legitimate the suffrage movement. After learning of what was going on during the 1890s, it was clear this was connected to why Mrs. Mallard was getting these feelings of wanting to have her own identity. Women were getting tired of working around the home while their husbands were out in the world doing greater things with their lives and wanted to bring about change. Mrs. Mallard sees herself relating to these other women and is happy that with her husband gone, it’ll be easier for her to do whatever she pleases and join these women to fight for their rights. While it seems like Mrs. Mallard didn’t love her husband, that’s not entirely true. She claims she did love him, but only sometimes. After stating that she only loved her husband sometimes, she goes on to say, “What did it matter! What could love the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” Mrs. Mallard’s main concern is being considered equal to men and feeling that her life has a purpose. After feeling this way about her husband, she realizes she wasted a good part of her life doing what was expected of her. Mrs. Mallard is so overjoyed with gaining her identity back that she actually dies of
One reason that makes me believe Mrs. Mallard is a feminist is because of her erratic behavior. One minute the narrator describes her as weeping with sudden, wild abandonment in her sister’s arms and then the next she’s repeating to herself …show more content…
Mallard was living in was very different to the microsystem we live in today. Back in the 1890s , the women’s rights movement had made a great amount of progress since it began in the late 1840s. However, the 1890s was a turning point for the movement. This is when the nation experienced a surge of volunteerism among middle-class women—activists in progressive causes, members of women’s clubs and professional societies, temperance advocates, and participants in local civic and charity organizations. These women were determined to expand their sphere of activities further outside the home which helped legitimate the suffrage movement. After learning of what was going on during the 1890s, it was clear this was connected to why Mrs. Mallard was getting these feelings of wanting to have her own identity. Women were getting tired of working around the home while their husbands were out in the world doing greater things with their lives and wanted to bring about change. Mrs. Mallard sees herself relating to these other women and is happy that with her husband gone, it’ll be easier for her to do whatever she pleases and join these women to fight for their rights. While it seems like Mrs. Mallard didn’t love her husband, that’s not entirely true. She claims she did love him, but only sometimes. After stating that she only loved her husband sometimes, she goes on to say, “What did it matter! What could love the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” Mrs. Mallard’s main concern is being considered equal to men and feeling that her life has a purpose. After feeling this way about her husband, she realizes she wasted a good part of her life doing what was expected of her. Mrs. Mallard is so overjoyed with gaining her identity back that she actually dies of