Kate Beckett

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story in which the main character, Mrs. Mallard, is introduced as having “heart trouble”. Great care was taken into consideration when her family and friends broke the news to her regarding the death of her husband. During the 19th century it was a common belief that women were too fragile to handle such information, so she was well protected. Mrs. Mallard locks herself in her, where her sister Josephine believes she is grieving; however, it is…

Book Review of The Awakening The Awakening is a tremendous novel written by Kate Chopin in 1899. The novel is set in Louisiana and follows the spiritual journey of Edna Pontellier, a twenty-eight-year-old wife and mother living in New Orleans. While in Grand Isle for the summer with her husband, Léonce, and their two children, she finds herself displeased with her marriage and the conventional behavior it demands from her. Edna was very different from the other women residing at Grand Isle…

“The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin, is a short story that describes a turn of events that takes place within an hour. This story involves a woman named Louise Mallard who is the wife of Brently Mallard. We later find out that Mr. Mallard play a major role in the events that take place in the excerpt. The terms free and death used has patronized in a way that gives us readers a different understanding of what is known today. In certain situations death brings on grief, sorrow and…

In “The story of an hour” the theme is sad because of all the death, pain, and emotions caused by a train accident that didn’t even involve anyone they knew. Mrs. Mallard (the wife) mourns over the loss of her husband. Richard (friend to Mr. Mallard the husband) goes to tell Mrs. Mallard the sad news of her husband’s death. She has a heart condition that makes her heart weak so Richard wants to tell her as gently as possible. Richard is sad because he had to find out from the newspaper that…

Author, Kate Chopin, in her novel, The Awakening, composes a story about a woman named Edna who is in a passionless marriage and is realizing her sexuality. Director, Mike Newell, in his film, Mona Lisa Smile, illustrates a story about a woman named Katherine who is an art professor at Wellesley College teaching female students about breaking out of society’s roles. Chopin’s purpose is to bring to light to how some housewives felt trapped in the lives they were supposed to live during the 1890’s…

Oppression of Female Independence In a society where women are controlled by patriarchal expectations, true independence is not an option. Kate Chopin witnessed and experienced these restrictions first hand during the 19th century, yet she refused to conform. She detailed this restriction in many of her works, and in The Awakening, her protagonist, Edna, goes against social constraints in a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, Chopin utilizes literary elements to track Edna’s progress while…

Independence and the individuality were important to the way Chopin developed the two main characters in both the novel and short story. Women being oppressed in their marriage was a main theme within the literary pieces. Though Chopin represented their personality and life differently. Edna Pontellier in The Awakening made the decision to find her individuality after she was married and had two children. She made the conscious choice to have an affair with another man when she was still…

1. “The Storm” – Protagonist: Calixta, Antagonist: The Storm, Point of view: 3rd person, Setting: 19th century Southern Louisiana, at the Friedheimer’s store and Calixta’s home, during a storm. In Kate Chopin’s story “The Storm,” the main character Calixta is faced with a very tricky situation which is being locked in her home alone with her former lover for the first time since they both married. While she is worried about her husband and son who are out in the storm, she is intrigued in…

With The Awakening being published in the year 1899, it can be deemed as an early work of feminism several years prior to the successes of the first wave feminist movement which granted women the right to vote in 1920. Chopin’s work could potentially have been inspired by the first wave feminist movement which proposed legislation in 1878. I think Chopin is finding inspiration from the first wave feminist movements and she is reflecting her progressive views onto the main character Edna. Edna…

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is an example of a modern short story because it fits into all four parts of the criteria. The story emphasizes subtle characterization rather than fast-paced plot, implies rather than states facts and psychological truths, emphasizes revelation rather than effect, and because of dramatic irony, readers have more knowledge of events than the characters do. The first criterion is that the story emphasizes subtle characterization rather than fast-paced…