Analysis of Kate Chopins Short Stories The Feminist Analysis - Essay Example

Full The Social Issue of Feminism The Story of an Hour tells the story of Louise, a woman whose husband was mistakenly reported as among the dead in a railroad disaster. Since she is afflicted with heart trouble, her sister Josephine tried to prudently break the news to her. When she wept and locked herself in her room, Josephine and Louise’s husband’s friend, Richardson thought that Louise was greatly grieved by her husband’s death. On the contrary, Louise was quite glad and she had to lock herself in her room so as not to show her emotions to those who brought her the news.

However, when her sister finally convinced her to come out from her room, Louise was shocked to see her husband open the door. She fainted at the sight of Mr. Mallard and eventually the doctor declared that she died of the joy that kills. Nevertheless, that is not all to the story. The author shows how females are quietly held by their necks by their male partners at a time when norms placed women in houses to take care of the household chores and attend to the needs of their husbands and children.

In this paper, an analysis of the story’s feminist entreaties will be discussed in detail. Women in the past centuries have been burdened with their perceived roles as housekeepers and child-caregivers set by the norms of patriarchal culture. During the author’s time, one of the popular media used in expressing one’s ideologies is through stories. This is evident in the aforementioned story. Here, Josephine is used to represent the women who are quite content to accept the norms and are bound to perform their duties without question.

Louise on the other hand is the portrayal of women who want more than just being a housekeeper. Nevertheless, since it is a taboo for women to pursue their dreams, she acquired heart trouble from her situation. When Louise locked herself in her room, she thought of her husband. “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her” (Chopin). Her husband was a gentleman but that was not enough for Louise’s adventurous and revolutionary heart.

She wanted to go to various places, meet other people and be as free as the wind. She never experienced those while she was married because even though her husband is kind and loving, he was a “powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (Chopin). Louise was never free to assert herself in the presence of her husband so that she almost considered herself a prisoner. This is the reason why she is more joyful than grieved about the death of her husband.

Louise can now behave the way she wants, visit other places and deal with other people as she pleases. She is now free, “body and soul, free!” Perhaps men can never understand how the pressure of a powerful will can burden a person. Although it seemed to be a trivial reason for Louise, her inability to do the things she wants probably was equally tantamount to being imprisoned without valid reasons. This social issue experienced by most women in the past centuries is ingeniously expressed in the short story.