Sad Irony of Patriarchy- The Story Of An Hour

Textual Analysis of Narratives  

The Story of an Hour; Kate Chopin 1894

Life is full of surprises and irony, the thing that was well illustrated in “The Story of an Hour”. The story by the American author Kate Chopin is a mainstay of the feminist literary study. Originally published in 1894, the short story of approximately a thousand words documents the complicated and ironic reaction of a woman upon her husband’s false death and even after walking in all safe and sound, in a time where Americans were highly influenced by the construction of a good woman reflected by the Victorian lifestyle back in England. In her story, Kate Chopin also tried to display the limitations of the patriarchal system and even marriage towards women in the nineteenth century.

From the outset, Louise Mallard was introduced as a married, weak woman who is receiving Brently Mallard’s death, her husband, from her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend; Richards. The latter go gently on her “in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half concealing” (4-5) as they assume the news is going to be devastating to Louise and threatens her fragile heart. From a one hands, Josephine and Richards provides a better demonstration of society over widows-simply a child that should be taken care of. The heart trouble, on the other hand, indicates a breakdown in the fundamental structure of communities which is marriage as it is the core and root of any society. Thus, Mrs. Mallard’s illness represents a typical 19^th century woman who is entrapped between her desires and the societal expectations from a good married woman. Unexpectedly, only when she is alone in her room Luoise feels overwhelmed with epiphany and a sudden revelation as her consciousness retrieves the thought of freedom and a comfortable happiness. This is symbolically represented via “the open window” (16) in her room  as a gate to her new life that she looks through and being able to be in harmony and recognize the rebirth of nature after the harsh winter “with the new spring life” (20). She can see “patches of blue sky” (24) and even can hear “a distant song which someone was singing” (22) and thus all her senses came back to life again without any restriction in a revealing moment realizing she is finally free from the fact of marriage when “she said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free”. (44-45). Hence, Louise is content as she looks forward to “years to come that would belong to her absolutely” which reflects her new self-possessed life independently without any patriarchal reflection. Nevertheless, the same physical description of excitement is displayed together with a feeling of guilt as an internal conflict in a paradoxical exposition “monstrous joy” (48) and the use of the third narrator or omission narration.

However, Brently Mallard enters the house opening the door with “latchkey” (82) as a proof of the patriarchy system where he belongs to the open space and get in and out whenever he wants unlike Mrs. Mallard who is blocked within the closed space before that front door. Alive and well unaware of what happened, Brently as usual got in “composedly carrying a grip-sack and umbrella” (83-84). Alas, Luoise’s “feverish triumph” (78) and her walking down the stairs as “Godess of victory” (79) vanish and get assassinated right away.

Eventually, Luoise dies. When the doctors determine that Luoise “died of heart disease-of joy that kills” (89-90), one directly notices the explicit verbal irony. It seems that Luoise died because of her loss of the cherished, new found freedom but not because of joy over her husband’s survival.