The Story of An Hour - Essay Example

The Story of an Hour “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story that tells about a woman’s reaction to finding out that has husband died. When Louise Mallard gets the news, she locks herself in her room to cry. As she calms down, coming to terms with the loss of her husband, she begins to realize that his death might be a blessing. She experiences a freedom that she hasn’t felt since before marriage. After Louise discovers that her husband is alive, she dies, being released from married life in the permanent freedom of death.

Through symbolism in the heart trouble that Louise has, the theme of longing for independence, and the theme of oppression in marriage, Kate Chopin reveals that the real pain experienced by Louise is not the pain of losing her husband, but of losing her freedom. From the beginning of the story, it is made known that Louise suffers from heart trouble, which is why the news of her husband’s death needed to be delivered carefully. Since her heart is weak, one would expect her to react unpleasantly to her husband’s death.

Instead, Louise’s heart flutters excitedly at what the death of her husband truly means: freedom. During the progress of the story, it becomes clear that her heart trouble is not just physical, but also symbolic of her unhappiness toward her marriage. As she realizes that her husband’s death means that she is free to live the life that she truly wants, her heart becomes lighter. When Louise dies upon finding out that her husband survived the accident believed to have taken his life, the doctor believes the cause is “a joy that kills” (par. 20), or happiness.

Instead, Louise died from shock by the immediate loss of her independence. The theme of longing for independence does not make itself immediately known in the story until Louise has gotten over the shock of her husband’s death. “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (9). Louise was probably expecting to feel the physical pain of losing her husband, or preparing to face the possibility of having a heart attack over her loss. What she did not expect, though, was to whisper, “Free, free, free!” (10) repeatedly, and to feel herself grow hopeful at her newfound thought of independence.

Though it had not dawned on her until after her husband was dead, Louise realized that having independence was a longing that she had had since she had gotten married. The joy she felt as a result of her independence had been, until then, a forbidden feeling. Similarly, the theme of oppression in marriage becomes evident after the death of Louise’s husband. As previously mentioned, Louise expects herself to feel shock and remorse at his death, yet surprises herself by instead realizing all that she can do now that she is no longer married.

“There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would life for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers . . .” (12). The sudden enlightenment that Louise had suggests a fermented disdain toward marriage, one that had been there even longer than Louise knew. She had been unable to be herself, treat herself, and do the things that she wanted because she was in a marriage contract. During the time of this short story, Louise would have been nothing more than property to her husband.

Upon his death, Louise was freed from this oppressive contract of marriage. Louise is not a cold woman. She mourned her husband rightfully, upset by his unexpected passing, but her heart had longer for something else. During her years as a wife, Louise mourned the loss of her freedom. With the death of her husband, Louise felt that her world had finally been set right. Unfortunately, irony had its way when Louise died upon seeing her husband alive, and instead of losing freedom, she gained it permanently.