english

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Student Lastname

Professor Gallego

English 1302

24 July 2019

How Society Works: In An Hour

Marriage is often seen as a loveable, equal partnership between two people. Everyone

imagines a relationship where both partners understand one another and don’t hold each other

back. Unfortunately, there are many circumstances where at least one person in the marriage

starts to feel like they are at a dead end. The feeling of being trapped is usually associated with

those who marry because they thought it was the right thing to do and not because marriage was

what they wanted. Although “The Story of an Hour” narrates the last moments of Louise Mallard

before she dies from shock after finding out her supposedly dead husband is alive, I argue that

the story makes a commentary on the institution of marriage and how its forced upon both men

and women in society because of the use of symbols, imagery, and irony.

The open window in the story is used as a symbol to help the reader understand the

deeper meaning of the story. For example, “No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through

that open window” (Chopin). The open window symbolizes the opportunity of freedom that

Louise can gain from the death of her husband. This shows that there is now a new way for

Louise to live her life the way she would like to without the need to inform or get approval from

someone else. Newfound freedom and independence are starting to become evident and a new

sense of purpose starts to appear: “Louise slowly begins to understand that her human reality has

changed, and that this change is setting her free towards becoming an individual being, her own

authentic self” (Podlasli-Labrenz, 64). With the information provided in the story and Louise’s

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thoughts, the reader can see the window as a way out from a marriage that wasn’t bad but was

oppressed by both parties due to the influence and pressure society had put on them.

The opening of the door and facing her sister, Josephine, symbolizes the opposite of the

open window for Louise: “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities”

(Chopin). The door in the story symbolizes a different route that can be taken. In this case,

Louise turns away from the window towards the closed door due to the constant requests of her

sister to come out. She turns her back to the opportunity of freedom she has and goes back to the

norms set by society. By doing so, all hope of the freedom she had gets stripped away without

her even noticing. “Her sister, Josephine, reminded us of her conventional thought that women

should attach themselves to their husbands” (Wan, 167). By having her sister trying to convince

Louise to get out of the room, we can see society trying to lure her back in and have her accept

the role they had predetermined. The significance of this scene is to demonstrate to the reader

how easily one can fall back into place in society when one is pressured and constantly bothered

by others to do something against their will and desires.

Another symbol of oppression in the story includes the latchkey used to open the door:

“Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey” (Chopin). This symbolizes how a person

can become locked up in a marriage, especially for the wives. As found in the word, a latchkey is

used to open latches on doors. Typically, latches are to fasten on a door to make sure it’s secure

and won’t be open easily. By having Brentley be the one to have the latchkey and open the door

to reveal himself to an unexpected Louise, the reader can see the upper hand Brentley holds in

the marriage. Society expects the men to be in control in their marriage and have their wives be

home at all times while they go out and work or past time with colleagues. Instead of being equal

partners, the reader is able to see how women are controlled by their husbands, and the husbands

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are being controlled by the rules set by society in order to have a perfect marriage; however, this

rarely benefits both parties and usually ends up with one person being unhappy but unable to

show their true feelings without being questioned.

The result of hiding one’s true feelings is symbolized through Louise’s heart. The reader

becomes aware of Louise’s heart condition in the first sentence: “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard

was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break…the news of her husband’s

death.” (Chopin). The heart symbolizes the emotional stress “which seem[s] to derive from her

personal situation in her marriage” (Podlasli-Labrenz, 64). The reader can assume that Louise

has repressed herself and emotions to fit into the mold society has created, thus making her heart

frail both physically and emotionally. Most people who find themselves in a similar situation

realize that limitations and restrictions have been put by what society expects them to act in a

marriage. In Louise’s case, she is indifferent to her marriage and unhappy about the lack of

freedom she was forced to be in because society said that one must get married. Even though this

type of pressure is mainly put on women, men are also subject to this kind of battering. Both will

sacrifice their independence as an individual and become one to cooperate in the world they live

in even if it means losing who they truly are.

Imagery is used in the story to demonstrate the reaction of Louise to her newfound

freedom: “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all

aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a

peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached

her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves” (Chopin). The narrator goes to

great lengths to have the reader understand what is happening in the mind of Louise by giving

details of what’s occurring before her and her portrayal of the activities: “…Louise…becomes

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conscious of signs of life, of rebirth…” (Podlasli-Labrenz, 65). By becoming more aware of all

the different activities surrounding her, Louise will start to realize the full life and freedom ahead

of her. In her eyes and mind, the world is being reborn again before her as well as herself. No

longer will she feel trapped inside her own home, her own body. She will now be able to do what

she pleases without having to walk on eggshells around someone else.

Nevertheless, the irony present in the story demonstrates what usually happens to those

who break the status quo. For example, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart

disease—of joy that kills” (Chopin). With a twist, the story ends with Louise herself dying

instead of her husband, who was unaware of anything that had occurred the past hour. Even

though Louise did have heart trouble that caused her passing, by taking a closer look one can see

how the joy of finally being free and then having it be taken away so quickly caused her death.

As the doctors said, Louise died of heart disease. Those who don’t react the way they are

supposed to in society, especially marriage, are often seen as something being wrong with them.

Louise was the one in the relationship to feel oppress and would gladly take the first opportunity

she got to escape and become free. However, when that joy gets taken away, Louise is thrust

back quickly into the way she has been living for the past years with just her husband walking

through the front door. The irony of the situation highlights how women are often punished for

doing thing something against the norm while men are treated with a bit more leniency in the

institution of marriage.

“The Story of an Hour” holds a deeper meaning about marriage in society. Mainly

through the use of symbols, the reader can comprehend the feeling of oppression one can feel

with all the pressure put on them by society. There are many regulations that society sets for

everyone to follow which leaves them to feel confined to a relationship that was meant to treat

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both equally. As shown with the marriage of Louise and Brentley, it can affect a person so much

to the point where they are just a shell of who they use to be. Kate Chopin enlightens the reader

on the idea of marriage and how it should be done because one wants to and not because they

feel like they have to in order to be accepted by society.

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Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." KateChopin.org, edited by Bernard Koloski, Kate Chopin

International Society, www.katechopin.org/story-hour/.

Podlasli-Labrenz, Heidi. “‘Revealing the Essential Self’: Sartrean Existentialism in Kate

Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’ and ‘A Pair of Silk Stockings.’” Southern Studies: An

Interdisciplinary Journal of the South, vol. 23, no. 2, Fall/Winter2016 2016, pp. 62–

78. EBSCOhost, dcccd.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?d

irect=true&db=ofm&AN=120963173&site=ehost-live.

Wan, Xuemei. "Kate Chopin’s View on Death and Freedom in The Story of an Hour." English

Language Teaching, vol. 2, no. 4, Dec. 2009, pp. 167-70, EBSCOhost,

doi:10.5539/elt.v2n4p167,

http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/4469.