The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis

Since the beginning of time, men have always dominated women. Women always lived in the shadows of men and men were always the head of the household. Our society has always been believed to be a patriarchal society. Women in the eighteenth century were portrayed as servants and did not have any say in anything just like in the short story “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin. The story begins with a woman going through grief for her husband’s death but for Louise Mallard, this was an awakening of a new life.

Louise portrays the true feelings of a woman who feels trapped inside her marriage, the desperation for freedom and

In the short story “The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin is a great example of how women are treated in a patriarchal society. A patriarchal society is a society runned by men. Although Chopin does not specifically write how Louise was living. The reader can imagine Louise living a traditional live. Meaning she spent most of her time at home under the control of her husband. Even in a happy marriage, women were limited to the things they wished to do. Many married women wanted to do thing without their husband permissions but were prehobied because men were the rule makers.

After Mr. Mallard’s death, Louise realized that although she may have loved her husband, she now has gained her freedom. She grows excitement and begins to dream about living her independent life. She wished that “life might be long,” and felt like a “goddess of Victory.” In the end of the story it states, “Doctors arrived and pronounced that Louise died of a heart attack brought on by happiness.” Mrs. Mallard was said to die because of relieve that her husband was alive. In reality readers can understand that Mrs. Mallard actually died because she had dreams of freedom and did not like the idea of living under her husband’s commands again.

To conclude, the title “The Story of an Hour,” refers to the life of Louise Mallard in an hour. For one hour she lived in a world of freedom, until her husband reappeared. Louise portrays the true feelings of a women who feels trapped inside her marriage. She also portrays the the freedom women wished they had. Women wanted more than just to be a housewife. They wanted control of the household, be financially independent and most importantly have the same freedom men had.

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