Introduction
“The Story of an Hour” was written in 1894 by Kate Chopin. This story is related to a woman who experienced true freedom after the erroneously reported death of her husband. This story is related to the boundaries that were being imposed by society on women in the nineteenth century. Kate Chopin, instead of only written, is also a character in the story who experienced domination by the male in society after the death of her husband at a very young age. Life is a mixture of both happiness and sadness, and it is full of surprises, as no one knows what will happen in the next moment. In this story, Kate Chopin gave the example of a situation when the wife became a victim in the relations of the family. This story explores the way in which society works, the concepts of gender, the objections to women, the institutionalization of marriage, the oppressing of women, and also about erasing of the desires the women. Moreover, this story tells how women eventually became counterparts to their husbands, with no identity, no voice, and no desires. This research paper discusses the concept of freedom for a woman.
Discussion
Over the past, women have been expected to be subservient to men and also considered the inferior sex. Women were given no right to share their opinions, make decisions, or show their talents as always. These things are only related to men. Kate Chopin, in her story, discusses the subject of marriage and how an alliance of the family influences the freedom of the individual. As looked in the background of the story, we get the idea of what Mrs. Mallard’s marriage meant to her. She was a young girl who seemed to be very happy with her married life, and she was deeply in love with her husband. But then her sister and the friend of her husband brought the news of her husband’s death, which made her very sorrowful. Her first reaction after that news is crying, as described in the story: “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” (Chopin, 1-2).
Although she felt grief at first, soon after that grief, she started to feel happier inside. She started to realize that now she was free from that marriage as the marriage was like a duty to her because she only had to obey the orders of her husband every time, and she should not have any right to make a decision or give any advice in the family matters. But as she got the feeling that she was not a slave anymore, her initial grief and sadness turned into extreme happiness. Now she got the feeling that she was free and that the “grey cloud” was not in her head anymore,. That was the reason behind the capturing of her happiness. That grey cloud means that the shadow overhead was the domination of her husband, from which she finally gets freed. The author’s idea of this story is related to the fact that in the 19th century, women were not treated equally to men, as they didn’t have the right to vote in the election, with some minor exceptions. Moreover, in the 19th century, the jobs for women were very limited, and they were facing very low-wage work in industries like needlework and mill jobs (Call, 1-7). They were only paid 12.5 cents per day which was too much less as compared with the pay of the man. Women were considered to stay at home and a source of producing the children and then raising them.
The author described that after the death of her husband, she went to her room, and then gradually, as time passed, she began to realize that finally she was free and could make her own choices and own decisions. It is stated by the author in the story that she kept whispering, “Free! Body and soul free!”. Moreover, the happiness of Mrs Mallard was due to thoughts and vision of getting a new life and a new future. As she was aware of the fact that she only had this married life, she also got the feeling that she had an opportunity to spend her life on her own rule. The author’s concept was not about a bad or abusive marriage, but instead, the main subject of the story is the institution of marriage in the nineteen century, where women had no right to decide or choose anything for themselves or their families. Women were entirely under the will of their husbands, who made every decision, for family and even for the women. The author’s concept is that it had nothing to do with marriage but freedom from everything that imposed the will of someone else upon women (Berkove, 152-158). The author states that although the marriage of Mrs Mallard was good, in the views of Mrs Mallard, it was not a happy marriage as she had no right to make her own decision, and she had to live under someone else’s will.
As the story continued, Mrs. Mallard dug deep into the joy of her freedom when the disaster struck her. Her husband walked into her room, who was supposed to be dead. Mrs Mallard’s joys and happiness vanished suddenly as her dreams of freedom shattered in front of her, and she started to realize that now she again had to live her life under the will of her husband. Everything went back to the old times, and that “grey cloud” returned to her life, and now again, her freedom, her sunshine, got covered under the will of her husband. She didn’t tolerate the return of her husband, and she got a heart attack and died. Doctors said that the joy killed her, but no one understands the fact that she died because of the sad reality that she had to spend her life under the will of her husband again.
It is clear by reading “The Story of an Hour” that Mrs. Mallard marriage was not the victim of abusive marriage as while sitting in the room, she admits that “she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death, the face that never looked save with love upon her, fixed and grey and dead”. This shows that her husband loved her, and in spite of this, she wanted to live a life of her own will and freedom. Kate Chopin, in “The Story of an Hour”, focused on the point that women had been given no rights by society in the nineteen century to choose how to live their own lives. As a character in the story, she stated that she wanted the opportunities that were not available to the women, instead, they were available to the men only. She states that women had only one condition at that time: to go from their father’s home to the home of their husband. Women were not asked whether they wanted to work or wanted to go to college. They were only the slave of someone else’s will.
The Author may be considered an early feminist of the 19th century. She gave the idea that the life of a woman may indeed be better if she did not live under the will of her husband. Moreover, in the nineteen century, it was considered that women were the lesser sex and, therefore, the man should have the right to make all the decisions of the family (Deneau, 210-213). Her story discusses the suppression of women in marriage and the historical reality that how women were treated in the nineteen century. Moreover, the author states that marriage takes the right of someone’s own will from them, and the marriage then becomes the imposition of private will on them. She believed that there should be equality between men and women in marriage life. Women should have the right to make their own decisions, share their own opinions, and show their abilities (Lee, 59). Women should have the right to make their own decisions by themselves and should have the right to live a life in the manner they want to live. There should not be a shadow of a husband on her own will. She illustrates the idea that instead of spending her whole life like a slave, it is better to live an hour of freedom.
Conclusion
Kate Chopin’s story “The Story of an Hour” illustrates the harsh reality of the nineteen century, where women had no power over their own will, and how she was the slave of her husband’s will. Women were not given equality towards men in society, and they were considered as the lesser sex. The author illustrates that living an hour of freedom is even better than spending a whole life under the will of the husband.
Works Cited
Berkove, Lawrence I. “Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopin’s” The Story of an Hour.” American Literary Realism 32.2 (2000): 152-158.
Call, Tanner. “Patriarchy & Feminism in the Early 20th Century: Finding Middle Ground Through Kate Chopin.” (2017).
Chopin, Kate. “The story of an hour.” (2018).
Deneau, Daniel P. “Chopin’s The Story of an Hour.” The Explicator 61.4 (2003): 210-213.
Lee, Chaeyoung. “Finding the Self: Tragic Self-Discovery in Kate Chopin’s Fiction.” ThePPEREVIEW (2015): 59.
