I did it!

To sum it up, I’d like to share my personal impression about this short story. First of all, it would be hard to understand the text without all stylistic devices filled in the inner feelings of Louis. I felt sorry about her being totally unhappy in marriage. Secondly, she was doomed to be behind the back of her husband under some social circumstances. This woman was ahead of time and deserved to be happy, but had no time for it, unfortunately.(

My final project on the topic Kate Chopin "A story of an Hour" is ready.Thank you for visiting and reading my blog!

Lexical devices

The author used a wide variety of lexical devices:

Epithets: veiled hints, sad message, paralyzed inability, delicious breath, countless sparrows, dull stare, bitter moment, new spring life were used to portray the state of the protagonist or of the nature.

Metaphors: a sob came up into her throat and shook her, elixir of life, the storm of grief had spent itself, a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul, a little whispered word escaped. We see, that Kate Chopin made Louis’ health and moral problems like an animate object that ruled her and didn’t allow her to feel better.

Hyperbole: countless sparrows.

Rhetoric questions: What was it?

Epiphora: She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

Irony: she had died of heart disease - of the joy that kills. This “oxymoronical” irony performs a very important function – it contributes to the understanding of the readers, that Louis wasn’t a happy woman, her love and devotion to husband was just an illusion, she wanted to break free. It wasn’t an ordinary case, when a woman can’t believe in husband’s death, and still waits for him home, and it’s a real unexpected, great surprise that he comes back unhurt, but not for Louis. She was ashamed, surprised of her unusual, unexpected feelings about her husband hadn’t had died.

Nominative sentences: Free! Body and soul free! These nominative sentences contribute to the understanding of the reader the moral state of Louis, she felt happy and free. 

Inversion: There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank. These cases of inversion emphasize the most important part of the sentence.

Antithesis: if it were or were not; A kind intention or a cruel intention.  And yet she had loved him - sometimes. Often she had not. Makes us arrive at a definite conclusion that all her love towards her husband was just an illusion.

“A Story of an Hour”. Continuation.

The protagonists of the story are: Mrs. Louise Mallard. She is introduced as being “afflicted with a heart trouble”, which is why great care is taken in telling her of her husband's death. It was also mentioned that: “pressed down by a physical exhaustion”, “quite motionless”, “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky”. The narrator of “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin relates what she observes in simple prose, but when her emotions are described, the words are vibrant and powerful. This suggests that Louis has a deep inner-life that is not connected to the outside world of her husband or friends. We see that she was sick and tired of all her life, and after she her husband had died, she realized, she was hopeful, she was on the verge of a new free life and asked God to give her a long life. In spite of the fact, that women had less rights, that men had, she was repressed by her husband, and the author gives the slight hint on woman’s emancipation and becoming more free and respected in the society.

Mr. Brently Mallard is the husband of Louise Mallard. He was: “little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella”. It is clear that her husband loved her when his face is described as “the face that had never looked save with love upon her.” He is assumed dead until the end of the story, when it is revealed that the news of his death was a mistake, but there is still the mystery: why wasn’t he in the place where he must be and where he was?

Josephine is Louise' sister. Following Richards' advice, she tells Mrs. Mallard of her husband's death. She was very touching and caring about her sister: “Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for admission”.

Richards is Mr. Mallard's friend and is the first person to hear of Brently's supposed death. Richard was very tender and didn’t want to hurt Louise, so he: “to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram”, “hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message”.

“The Story of an Hour”

“The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin on April 19, 1894, and originally published in Vogue on December 6, 1894 as "The Dream of an Hour". It was first reprinted in St. Louis Life on January 5, 1895 as "The Story of an Hour."

The setting is common to many short stories by the author. The setting of the events in the given story is realistic and is presented in a detailed way. It provides a background for action and contributes to the understanding of the characters.

The title of the story is rather symbolic, because it refers to only one hour when all the events take place. The title partly shows also one of the main ideas of the work: how many fatal accidents can happen during one hour.

The main theme of this short story is family relations between a man and a woman; the discrepancy between her current emotions and what she “must feel” about it.

The idea of the story is that marriage without love is doomed to failure; the point is not in marrying a man, whom can you live with, but without whom you can’t leave. I’d like to add, that people in marriage should be united by their souls, all the problems should be discussed, and solved by mutual consent, in other way it would be a repressing marriage.

From the viewpoint of contextual type, it is a narration with the elements of description, presented from the 3d person. In such a way the author gives the impersonal description of the events that happen, sounds more objective. It is interesting, that the author uses both nature (but not as a background), (e.g. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.) and character description (e.g. She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength) in order to show that the nature, as a symbol of life, is as gorgeous as Louise is. Louise is free from the burden of wedding oath, promises and duties.

Literary themes

Her prose style is unique and rather “making-difference” as she is considered to be one of the first authors, who displayed a powerful insight into the world of women, expressing strong feministic approach. She herself wasn’t a conventional housewife, but exhibited a strong personality and had an unconventional view on the rights of a woman in the society. Her soul ached to be more free and feminized. The novel by her “The Awakening”, which was published in 1899, caused a great scandal and won her a reputation of a skillful author. The novel portrayed a strong woman involved in an adulterous affair, that’s why it caused a great splash in the literary world. An interesting fact is that Kate Chopin really wasn’t an ordinary woman at that times and that “expected-to-be” women social behavior, as she drank and smoked heavily, behaving like a man. I can assume, that she in some way wanted even to portray personal traits of character and her unwillingness to behave as somebody wants. Her husband didn’t mind such behavior and appreciated her way of living and unconventional style of writing.

Her main topics are: women rights, marriage, and choice in life, which every person must face . She always displayed a non-traditional approach towards such themes, making her characters to chose between what society expects them to do and what they really desire; it’s clear that her characters commonly decide to follow their own paths. What’s more, in her fiction the author explored such forbidden themes as sexual relationships, stating that women commonly need simply sex and furthermore, women are desperately looking for independence and self-realization. All of the abovementioned themes are explored in her last novel “The Awakening”, which caused a great deal of controversy, because critics praised her style on the one hand and accused her of writing immoral novels on the other hand. Nevertheless, her novels and short stories are still considered to be masterpieces, which give a strong insight into women’s rights, independence, sexuality and express a strong feministic approach.

The plot of the story "The Story of an Hour"

    "The Story of an Hour" is a short story by Kate Chopin. The work is one of her most famous short works, partly because of its surprise ending. 

    The short story describes the series of emotions Louise Mallard endures after hearing of the death of her husband, who was believed to have died in a railroad disaster. Mrs. Mallard suffers from heart problems; therefore, her sister attempts to inform her of the horrific news in a gentle way. Mrs. Mallard locks herself in her room to immediately mourn the loss of her husband. However, she begins to feel an unexpected sense of exhilaration. "Free! Body and soul free!" is what she believes is a benefit of his death, until she discovers her husband standing in the doorway of their house, alive. The shock of seeing her living husband proves too much for her heart and kills her.

My dear friends! If you don't have enough time to read , you are welcome to listen to the audio book.

The author of this story

Kate Chopin was an American author of short stories and novels. She was born February 8, 1850 in Katherine O'Flaherty. Now she is considered by some to have been a forerunner of the feminist authors of the 20th century.

Her father, Thomas O'Flaherty, was a successful businessman who had emigrated from Galway, Ireland. Her mother, Eliza Faris, was a well-connected member of the French community in St. Louis. Her maternal grandmother, Athénaïse Charleville, was of French Canadian descent. Some of her ancestors were among the first European inhabitants of Dauphin Island, Alabama. She was the third of five children, but her sisters died in infancy and her brothers (from her father's first marriage) in their early twenties. She was thus the only child to live past the age of twenty-five. After her father's death in 1855, Chopin developed a close relationship with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She also became an avid reader of fairy tales, poetry, and religious allegories, as well as classic and contemporary novels.

  
     From 1892 to 1895,      she wrote short stories  for both children and  adults which were  published in such  magazines as Atlantic  Monthly, Vogue, The  Century Magazine, and  The Youth's  Companion.


 

                                                                          

The most famous stories are:

"The Awakening "

"Bayou Folk"

"The Story of an Hour"

"Regret"

"At Fault"

"The Storm"

Here are some short biography about author.
Enjoy watching =)