A Surprise that kills In "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin portrays the bondage some women feel in marriage. Chopin presents a character known as Louise or Mrs. Mallard. The lack of personal identity is evident in this name. Chopin uses tone to present contradictory feelings toward the institution of marriage. Louise represents the new feeling of freedom with feminism. However, Josephine and Richards represents the traditional views of life and marriage.
Louise feels imprisoned within the life she has and she longs for personal fulfillment. The fulfillment that she desires lies in the need for independence. She tends to feel oppressed by the norms of society and marriage. The reported death of her husband sends her spirits to an euphoria high as she senses her first taste of freedom. In spite of this, her euphoria is suddenly replaced by despair when she discovers her husband is still alive.
Kate Chopin in 1894
Photoportrait of writer Kate Chopin
English: Underwater photograph of a woman plunging...Upon hearing of the news of her husband's apparent death, Mrs. Mallards immediate reaction is shock. Conversely, as the significance of her husband's death begins to descend in, she realizes that she is released from bondage. Her remorse for her husband is unexpectedly replaced by a feeling of optimism for her own future. She is expected by others to show grief but is increasingly able to do so. To hide her true feelings Mrs. Mallard retreats to her room and locks her self in, much to the concern of the others in the house. She is overwhelmed with the thought of her husband's sudden death. This has made her lifetime emotional torment come to an end, and she can be as free as a man now.
Mrs. Mallard was faced with conflicting emotions that she did not quite understand. It was all unclear how she was...