"Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

The history of women could be described as an emotional rollercoaster of desperate fights in order to first establish and later preserve women’s rights. During the 1800’s, women were their husband’s possession and did not have the freedom to enjoy their lives the way any human being should be able to. In Kate Chopin’s story “The Story of an Hour” she describes the time when women were supposed to keep quiet, bear children, and be servile to their men. She expresses her feelings through a female protagonist in her story. In “The Story of an Hour” she portrayed, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard on an emotional roller coaster all in one hour. After learning of her husband’s death Mrs. Mallard elevates to her epiphany of freedom, but then descends to her death of disappointment when the news turns out to be wrong. The main reason for Mrs. Mallard’s disappointment is that she finally felt as if she would be able to live her life and enjoy the simple things she could not have enjoyed before during the time her husband was alive, such as simply looking out the window and indulging herself with the sounds, scents, and the color that filled the air. She felt as if she now had the power to act, speak, or think without restraints. With her husband gone, she would now be her own person. What might be viewed as cold heartedness made it possible for her to dream about her future with illumination and feel her soul and body finally free.
All the visions she had of her freedom would be obsolete by the sight of her husband alive. Mrs. Mallard’s hopes and dreams died with her at the sight of him. The doctors assumed it was because she was overcome with joy; ironically, she was terribly dismayed and her disappointment killed her. This situation could be interpreted under the approach of feminist criticism. The irony is that her freedom was only momentary and her life lasted less than one hour. Mrs. Mallard’s marriage to her husband was more of duty than love. She must have been extremely unhappy to feel such joy and excitement after finding out about her husband’s death. She unconsciously celebrated his death instead of grieving as anyone else would. But can we really blame Mrs. Mallard for what seems like, her cold heartedness? Her human behavior could be seen as strange to some; however, during that time it would be much more easily understood by all women who shared Mrs. Mallard’s struggle. The value of a woman’s experience and perspective in understanding is being introduced by the author. Kate Chopin kept the story brief for a reason as well; to show just how brief and short Mrs. Mallard’s actual life was.