Journal-Story Of An Hour
Journal Response 2: “Story of an Hour”
I enjoyed reading “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin because Chopin shows a peculiar transformation of her main character Louise Mallard. In my opinion, Mrs. Mallard undergoes an “enlightened thought” about her husband’s death while she is crying hysterically in her room. This thought just popped in her head like a light bulb. Although I find it disturbing that she is actually happy that her husband is dead, I also find it funny and ironic because at the end of the story, Mr. Mallard was not dead after all.
After reading this story, I also wondered as to why Mrs. Mallard was happy her husband died. Was he abusing her? Was she not happily married to him? Many questions arose about why Mrs. Mallard was cheering on the side of her husband’s death, although she did show remorse for him when she initially found out the terrible news. But the question is why did she all of the sudden have a high hopes feeling like life is just beginning? Why did she say, “Free! Body and soul free!”
When I began to read, I pictured this kind old woman with heart trouble. Thinking about why she would say she was now free, made me come to the conclusion that she was possibly a young housewife and did not enjoy her married life. Chopin describes the woman as having a “calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength.” Meaning, Mrs. Mallard looked old for her age. After analyzing this story, in my opinion, it seems as if Chopin is mimicking an example of the times when a woman or wife was a “prisoner” for her husband. When I say prisoner, I mean stay home wife. The role of a housewife is to stay home clean the house, cook, attend to her husbands needs, and have kids. In this situation though, children were not mentioned. This made me think that maybe the Mallard’s relationship was not well established as a married couple in love.
Another thing I really liked about this story was Chopin’s usage of irony. I really enjoy...
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