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But then she comes to question the meaning of love. (463) <ref>Bender, Bert. "The Teeth of Desire: The Awakening and the Descent of Man." American Literature 63.3 (Sep., 1991): 459-473.</ref> |
But then she comes to question the meaning of love. (463) <ref>Bender, Bert. "The Teeth of Desire: The Awakening and the Descent of Man." American Literature 63.3 (Sep., 1991): 459-473.</ref> |
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the theme of the story is to love your husband |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 14:40, 15 September 2010
| "The Story of an Hour" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Kate Chopin | |
| Original title | The Dream of an Hour |
| Translator | None |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Literary Fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | United States |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publisher | Vogue |
| Publication date | 1894 |
| Published in English | 1894 |
"The Story of an Hour" (1894) is a widely anthologized short story by American writer Kate Chopin. Critic Daniel Deneau says it is "Surely [her] best-known piece of short fiction." [1]
It was originally published in the December 6, 1894 issue of Vogue magazine under its original title, "The Dream of an Hour." [2] [3] It describes a woman's reaction to the news of her husband's sudden death and to the subsequent news that he is, in fact, alive. Stating that she dies of "heart disease — of joy that kills" does not necessarily provide a resolution to the story. The resolution could be interpreted as ambiguous, similar to Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" and "The Most Dangerous Game," by Richard Connell. The story exemplifies Chopin's beliefs regarding women's roles in marriage and feminine identity. There are four characters in the story:
- Louise Mallard, the protagonist
- Brently Mallard, her husband
- Josephine, Mrs. Mallard's sister
- Richards, Mr. Mallard's friend
"The Story of an Hour" employs irony very powerfully. Whereas Mrs. Mallard appears sad in the beginning, she is overjoyed with being "Free, free, free!" Later, when she discovers that her husband is alive, she dies out of grief. The doctors believe that she died from the joy of seeing her husband.
Criticism
In "The Teeth of Desire: The Awakening and The Descent of Man," critic Bert Bender summarizes the theme of the story:
In "The Story of an Hour," on the other hand, Mrs. Mallard
feels the ecstasy of being liberated from what seems an agreeable marriage after the apparent accidental death of her husband. But then she comes to question the meaning of love. (463) [4]
the theme of the story is to love your husband
References
- ^ Deneau, Daniel P. "Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour.'" The Explicator 61.4 (Summer 2003): 210-14.
- ^ The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin, characters, setting
- ^ Golden, Catherine. Charlotte Perkins Gillman's The Yellow Wall-Paper: A Sourcebook and Critical Edition. Routledge, 2004. 37. ISBN: 0415263581
- ^ Bender, Bert. "The Teeth of Desire: The Awakening and the Descent of Man." American Literature 63.3 (Sep., 1991): 459-473.
