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116 The Story of an Hour Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short but powerful story that explores the complexities of marriage, freedom, and self-discovery. With its rich themes and thought-provoking narrative, this classic piece of literature has inspired countless essays and discussions. If you're looking for essay topic ideas and examples for The Story of an Hour, you've come to the right place. Here are 116 essay topics to help you get started:

  • Analyze the character of Mrs. Mallard and how she evolves throughout the story.
  • Explore the theme of freedom in The Story of an Hour.
  • Discuss the role of marriage in the story and how it impacts the characters.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's emotions before and after learning of her husband's death.
  • Examine the use of irony in the story and how it contributes to the overall theme.
  • Discuss the significance of the title "The Story of an Hour" and how it relates to the plot.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the open window in the story.
  • Explore the theme of female independence in The Story of an Hour.
  • Discuss the role of societal expectations in the story and how they influence the characters' actions.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of other characters in the story.
  • Analyze the significance of the setting in The Story of an Hour.
  • Discuss the theme of repression in the story and how it affects the characters' relationships.
  • Explore the theme of mortality in The Story of an Hour.
  • Discuss the role of gender in the story and how it shapes the characters' experiences.
  • Analyze the use of foreshadowing in The Story of an Hour.
  • Discuss the theme of self-discovery in the story and how it impacts the characters' development.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of society's expectations.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the heart trouble in the story.
  • Discuss the theme of isolation in The Story of an Hour.
  • Explore the theme of rebirth in the story and how it relates to Mrs. Mallard's journey.
  • Analyze the role of communication in the story and how it affects the characters' relationships.
  • Discuss the theme of empowerment in The Story of an Hour.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of her sister's.
  • Analyze the role of denial in the story and how it influences the characters' actions.
  • Discuss the theme of time in The Story of an Hour.
  • Explore the theme of grief in the story and how it impacts the characters' emotions.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the railroad in the story.
  • Discuss the theme of liberation in The Story of an Hour.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of her friend's.
  • Analyze the role of symbolism in the story and how it enhances the narrative.
  • Discuss the theme of identity in The Story of an Hour.
  • Explore the theme of fate in the story and how it influences the characters' choices.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the staircase in the story.
  • Discuss the theme of transformation in The Story of an Hour.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of her mother's.
  • Analyze the role of foils in the story and how they contribute to the characters' development.
  • Discuss the theme of betrayal in The Story of an Hour.
  • Explore the theme of forgiveness in the story and how it impacts the characters' relationships.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the storm in the story.
  • Discuss the theme of redemption in The Story of an Hour.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of her father's.
  • Analyze the role of irony in the story and how it enhances the narrative.
  • Discuss the theme of sacrifice in The Story of an Hour.
  • Explore the theme of perspective in the story and how it influences the characters' perceptions.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the caged bird in the story.
  • Discuss the theme of acceptance in The Story of an Hour.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of her neighbors'.
  • Explore the theme of choice in the story and how it impacts the characters' decisions.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the garden in the story.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of her colleagues'.
  • Analyze the role of foreshadowing in the story and how it contributes to the overall theme.
  • Explore the theme of self-discovery in the story and how it impacts the characters' development.
  • Analyze the symbolism of the mirror in the story.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death with that of her classmates'.
  • Discuss the theme of mortality in The Story of an Hour.
  • Discuss the theme of female independence in The Story of an Hour.
  • Explore the theme of repression in the story and how it affects the characters' relationships.
  • Discuss the theme of freedom in The Story of an Hour.
  • Explore the role of marriage in the story and how it impacts the characters.
  • Analyze the use of irony in the story and how it contributes to the overall theme.
  • Discuss the significance of the setting in The Story of an Hour.
  • Analyze the role of marriage in the story and how it impacts the characters.
  • Analyze the significance of the title "The Story of an Hour" and how it relates to the plot.
  • Compare and contrast Mrs. Mallard's reaction to

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The Story of an Hour

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A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

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Discussion Questions

Written at the turn of the 20th century, how does “The Story of an Hour” portray technology such as the railroad and telegraph? Does Chopin suggest any relationship between modernization or industrialization and social reality for women?

Does “The Story of an Hour” follow conventional Aristotelian tragic plot constructions? Identify the possible inciting incident, peripeteia (reversal of fortune), climax, and anagnorisis (discovery) among the emotional events of the story.

How does the story’s extremely short length and narrative timeframe emphasize its themes? Why did Chopin choose to tell “The Story of an Hour” rather than “The Story of a Day”?

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Home › Literature › Analysis of Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour

Analysis of Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on July 28, 2021

Originally entitled “The Dream of an Hour” when it was first published in Vogue (December 1894), “The Story of an Hour” has since become one of Kate Chopin’s most frequently anthologized stories. Among her shortest and most daring works, “Story” examines issues of feminism, namely, a woman’s dissatisfaction in a conventional marriage and her desire for independence. It also features Chopin’s characteristic irony and ambiguity .

The story begins with Louise Mallard’s being told about her husband’s presumed death in a train accident. Louise initially weeps with wild abandon, then retires alone to her upstairs bedroom. As she sits facing the open window, observing the new spring life outside, she realizes with a “clear and exalted perception” that she is now free of her husband’s “powerful will bending hers” (353). She becomes delirious with the prospect that she can now live for herself and prays that her life may be long. Her newfound independence is short-lived, however. In a surprise ending, her husband walks through the front door, and Louise suffers a heart attack and dies. Her death may be considered a tragic defeat or a pyrrhic victory for a woman who would rather die than lose that “possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being” (353). The doctors ironically attribute her death to the “joy that kills” (354).

BIBLIOGRAPHY Chopin, Kate. The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. Edited by Per Seyersted. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969. Koloski, Bernard. Kate Chopin: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1996. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969. Toth, Emily. Kate Chopin. New York: Morrow, 1990

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Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Some short stories can say all they need to do in just a few pages, and Kate Chopin’s three-page 1894 story ‘The Story of an Hour’ (sometimes known as ‘The Dream of an Hour’) is a classic example. Yet those three pages remain tantalisingly ambiguous, perhaps because so little is said, so much merely hinted at. Yet Chopin’s short story is, upon closer inspection, a subtle, studied analysis of death, marriage, and personal wishes.

Written in April 1894 and originally published in Vogue in December of that year, the story focuses on an hour in the life of a married woman who has just learnt that her husband has apparently died.

‘The Story of an Hour’: plot summary

What happens in that brief hour, that story of an hour? A married woman, Mrs Louise Mallard, who has heart trouble, learns that her husband has died in a railroad accident.

Her sister Josephine breaks the news to her; it was her husband’s friend Richards who first heard about the railroad disaster and saw her husband’s name, Brently Mallard, at the top of the list of fatalities. Her first reaction is to weep at the news that her husband is dead; she then takes herself off to her room to be alone.

She sinks into an armchair and finds herself attuned to a series of sensations: the trees outside the window ‘aquiver with the new spring life’, the ‘breath of rain’ in the air; the sound of a peddler crying his wares in the street below. She finds herself going into a sort of trancelike daze, a ‘suspension of intelligent thought’.

Then, gradually, a feeling begins to form within her: a sense of freedom. Now her husband is dead, it seems, she feels free. She dreads seeing her husband’s face (as she knows she must, when she goes to identify the body), but she knows that beyond that lie years and years of her life yet to be lived, and ‘would all belong to her absolutely’.

She reflects that she had loved her husband – sometimes. Sometimes she hadn’t. But now, that didn’t matter: what matters is the ‘self-assertion’, the declaration of independence, that her life alone represents a new start.

But then, her sister Josephine calls from outside the door for her to come out, worried that Louise is making herself ill. But Louise doesn’t feel ill: she feels on top of the world. She used to dread the prospect of living to a ripe old age, but now she welcomes such a prospect. Eventually she opens the door and she and Josephine go back downstairs.

Richards is still down there, waiting for them. Then, there’s a key in the front door and who should enter but … Mrs Mallard’s husband, Brently Mallard.

It turns out he was nowhere near the scene of the railroad accident, and is unharmed! Mrs Mallard is so shocked at his return that she dies, partly because of her heart disease but also, so ‘they’ said, from the unexpected ‘joy’ of her husband’s return.

‘The Story of an Hour’: analysis

In some ways, ‘The Story of an Hour’ prefigures a later story like D. H. Lawrence’s ‘ Odour of Chrysanthemums ’ (1911), which also features a female protagonist whose partner’s death makes her reassess her life with him and to contemplate the complex responses his death has aroused in her.

However, in Lawrence’s story the husband really has died (in a mining accident), whereas in ‘The Story of an Hour’, we find out at the end of the story that Mr Mallard was not involved in the railroad accident and is alive and well. In a shock twist, it is his wife who dies, upon learning that he is still alive.

What should we make of this ‘dream of an hour’? That alternative title is significant, not least because of the ambiguity surrounding the word ‘dream’. Is Louise so plunged into shock by the news of her husband’s apparent death that she begins to hallucinate that she would be better off without him? Is this her way of coping with traumatic news – to try to look for the silver lining in a very black cloud? Or should we analyse ‘dream’ as a sign that she entertains aspirations and ambitions, now her husband is out of the way?

‘The Dream of an Hour’ perhaps inevitably puts us in mind of Kate Chopin’s most famous story, the short novel The Awakening (1899), whose title reflects its female protagonist Edna Pontellier’s growing awareness that there is more to life than her wifely existence.

But Louisa Mallard’s ‘awakening’ remains a dream; when she awakes from it, upon learning that her husband is still alive and all her fancies about her future life have been in vain, she dies.

‘The Story of an Hour’ and modernism

‘The Story of an Hour’ is an early example of the impressionistic method of storytelling which was also being developed by Anton Chekhov around the same time as Chopin, and which would later be used by modernists such as Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf.

Although the story uses an omniscient third-person narrator, we are shown things from particular character perspectives in a way that reflects their own confusions and erratic thoughts – chiefly, of course, Louisa Mallard’s own.

But this impressionistic style – which is more interested in patterns of thought, daydreaming, and emotional responses to the world than in tightly structured plots – continues right until the end of the story.

Consider the final sentence of the story: ‘When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills.’ The irony, of course, is that Louisa appears to have accepted her husband’s death and to have taken his demise as a chance to liberate herself from an oppressive marriage (note Chopin’s reference to the lines on her face which ‘bespoke repression and even a certain strength’ – what did she need that strength for, we wonder?).

So it was not joy but disappointment, if anything, that brought on the heart attack that killed her. But the (presumably male) doctors who attended her death would not have assumed any such thing: they would have analysed her death as a result of her love for her husband, and the sheer joy she felt at having him back.

Chopin’s story also foreshadows Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Garden Party’ , and Laura Sheridan’s enigmatic emotional reaction to seeing her first dead body (as with Chopin’s story, a man who has died in an accident). If you enjoyed this analysis of ‘The Story of an Hour’, you might also enjoy Anton Chekhov’s 1900 story ‘At Christmas Time’, to which Chopin’s story has been compared.

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The Story of an Hour

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Imagine a world where women are fighting for unprecedented rights, the economic climate is unpredictable, and new developments in technology are made every year. While this world might sound like the present day, it also describes America in the 1890s . 

It was in this world that author Kate Chopin wrote and lived, and many of the issues of the period are reflected in her short story, “The Story of an Hour.” Now, over a century later, the story remains one of Kate Chopin’s most well-known works and continues to shed light on the internal struggle of women who have been denied autonomy.

In this guide to Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” we’ll discuss:

  • A brief history of Kate Chopin and America the 1890s
  • “The Story of an Hour” summary
  • Analysis of the key story elements in “The Story of an Hour,” including themes, characters, and symbols

By the end of this article, you’ll have an expert grasp on Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour.” So let’s get started!

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“The Story of an Hour” Summary

If it’s been a little while since you’ve read Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” it can be hard to remember the important details. This section includes a quick recap, but you can find “The Story of an Hour” PDF and full version here . We recommend you read it again before diving into our analyses in the next section! 

For those who just need a refresher, here’s “The Story of an Hour” summary: 

Mrs. Louise Mallard is at home when her sister, Josephine, and her husband’s friend, Richards, come to tell her that her husband, Brently Mallard, has been killed in a railroad accident . Richards had been at the newspaper office when the news broke, and he takes Josephine with him to break the news to Louise since they’re afraid of aggravating her heart condition. Upon hearing the news of her husband’s death, Louise is grief-stricken, locks herself in her room, and weeps.

From here, the story shifts in tone. As Louise processes the news of her husband’s death, she realizes something wonderful and terrible at the same time: she is free . At first she’s scared to admit it, but Louise quickly finds peace and joy in her admission. She realizes that, although she will be sad about her husband (“she had loved him—sometimes,” Chopin writes), Louise is excited for the opportunity to live for herself. She keeps repeating the word “free” as she comes to terms with what her husband’s death means for her life. 

In the meantime, Josephine sits at Louise’s door, coaxing her to come out because she is worried about Louise’s heart condition. After praying that her life is long-lived, Louise agrees to come out. However, as she comes downstairs, the front door opens to reveal her husband, who had not been killed by the accident at all. Although Richards tries to keep Louise’s heart from shock by shielding her husband from view, Louise dies suddenly, which the doctors later attribute to “heart disease—of the joy that kills .”

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Kate Chopin, the author of "The Story of an Hour," has become one of the most important American writers of the 19th century. 

The History of Kate Chopin and the 1890s

Before we move into “The Story of an Hour” analysis section, it’s helpful to know a little bit about Kate Chopin and the world she lived in. 

A Short Biography of Kate Chopin

Born in 1850 to wealthy Catholic parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Kate Chopin (originally Kate O’Flaherty) knew hardship from an early age. In 1855, Chopin lost her father, Thomas, when he passed away in a tragic and unexpected railroad accident. The events of this loss would stay with Kate for the rest of her life, eventually becoming the basis for “The Story of an Hour” nearly forty years later.

Chopin was well-educated throughout her childhood , reading voraciously and becoming fluent in French. Chopin was also very aware of the divide between the powerful and the oppressed in society at the time . She grew up during the U.S. Civil War, so she had first-hand knowledge of violence and slavery in the United States. 

Chopin was also exposed to non-traditional roles for women through her familial situation. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother chose to remain widows (rather than remarry) after their husbands died. Consequently, Chopin learned how important women’s independence could be, and that idea would permeate much of her writing later on. 

As Chopin grew older, she became known for her beauty and congeniality by society in St. Louis. She was married at the age of nineteen to Oscar Chopin, who came from a wealthy cotton-growing family. The couple moved to New Orleans, where they would start both a general store and a large family. (Chopin would give birth to seven children over the next nine years!) 

While Oscar adored his wife, he was less capable of running a business. Financial trouble forced the family to move around rural Louisiana. Unfortunately, Oscar would die of swamp fever in 1882 , leaving Chopin in heavy debt and with the responsibility of managing the family’s struggling businesses. 

After trying her hand at managing the property for a year, Chopin conceded to her mother’s requests to return with her children to St. Louis. Chopin’s mother died the year after. In order to support herself and her children, Kate began to write to support her family. 

Luckily, Chopin found immediate success as a writer. Many of her short stories and novels—including her most famous novel, The Awakening— dealt with life in Louisiana . She was also known as a fast and prolific writer, and by the end of the 1900s she had written over 100 stories, articles, and essays. 

Unfortunately, Chopin would pass away from a suspected cerebral hemorrhage in 1904, at the age of 54 . But Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and other writings have withstood the test of time. Her work has lived on, and she’s now recognized as one of the most important American writers of the 19th century. 

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American life was undergoing significant change in the 19th century. Technology, culture, and even leisure activities were changing. 

American Life in the 1890s

“The Story of an Hour” was written and published in 1894, right as the 1800s were coming to a close. As the world moved into the new century, American life was also changing rapidly. 

For instance, t he workplace was changing drastically in the 1890s . Gone were the days where most people were expected to work at a trade or on a farm. Factory jobs brought on by industrialization made work more efficient, and many of these factory owners gradually implemented more humane treatment of their workers, giving them more leisure time than ever.

Though the country was in an economic recession at this time, technological changes like electric lighting and the popularization of radios bettered the daily lives of many people and allowed for the creation of new jobs. Notably, however, work was different for women . Working women as a whole were looked down upon by society, no matter why they found themselves in need of a job. 

Women who worked while they were married or pregnant were judged even more harshly. Women of Kate Chopin’s social rank were expected to not work at all , sometimes even delegating the responsibility of managing the house or child-rearing to maids or nannies. In the 1890s, working was only for lower class women who could not afford a life of leisure .

In reaction to this, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was created in 1890, which fought for women’s social and political rights. While Kate Chopin was not a formal member of the suffragette movements, she did believe that women should have greater freedoms as individuals and often talked about these ideas in her works, including in “The Story of an Hour.” 

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Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" a short exploration of marriage and repression in America.

“The Story of an Hour” Analysis

Now that you have some important background information, it’s time to start analyzing “The Story of an Hour.”

This short story is filled with opposing forces . The themes, characters, and even symbols in the story are often equal, but opposite, of one another. Within “The Story of an Hour,” analysis of all of these elements reveals a deeper meaning.

“The Story of an Hour” Themes

A theme is a message explored in a piece of literature. Most stories have multiple themes, which is certainly the case in “The Story of an Hour.” Even though Chopin’s story is short, it discusses the thematic ideas of freedom, repression, and marriage. 

Keep reading for a discussion of the importance of each theme! 

Freedom and Repression

The most prevalent theme in Chopin’s story is the battle between freedom and “repression.” Simply put , repression happens when a person’s thoughts, feelings, or desires are being subdued. Repression can happen internally and externally. For example, if a person goes through a traumatic accident, they may (consciously or subconsciously) choose to repress the memory of the accident itself. Likewise, if a person has wants or needs that society finds unacceptable, society can work to repress that individual. Women in the 19th century were often victims of repression. They were supposed to be demure, gentle, and passive—which often went against women’s personal desires. 

Given this, it becomes apparent that Louise Mallard is the victim of social repression. Until the moment of her husband’s supposed death, Louise does not feel free . In their marriage, Louise is repressed. Readers see this in the fact that Brently is moving around in the outside world, while Louise is confined to her home. Brently uses railroad transportation on his own, walks into his house of his own accord, and has individual possessions in the form of his briefcase and umbrella. Brently is even free from the knowledge of the train wreck upon his return home. Louise, on the other hand, is stuck at home by virtue of her position as a woman and her heart condition. 

Here, Chopin draws a strong contrast between what it means to be free for men and women. While freedom is just part of what it means to be a man in America, freedom for women looks markedly different. Louise’s life is shaped by what society believes a woman should be and how a wife should behave. Once Louise’s husband “dies,” however, she sees a way where she can start claiming some of the more “masculine” freedoms for herself. Chopin shows how deeply important freedom is to the life of a woman when, in the end, it’s not the shock of her husband’s return of her husband that kills Louise, but rather the thought of losing her freedom again.

Marriage as a “The Story of an Hour” theme is more than just an idyllic life spent with a significant other. The Mallard’s marriage shows a reality of 1890s life that was familiar to many people. Marriage was a means of social control —that is to say, marriage helped keep women in check and secure men’s social and political power. While husbands were usually free to wander the world on their own, hold jobs, and make important family decisions, wives (at least those of the upper class) were expected to stay at home and be domestic. 

Marriage in Louise Mallard’s case has very little love. She sees her marriage as a life-long bond in which she feels trapped, which readers see when she confesses that she loved her husband only “sometimes.” More to the point, she describes her marriage as a “powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” In other words, Louise Mallard feels injustice in the expectation that her life is dictated by the will of her husband.

Like the story, the marriages Kate witnessed often ended in an early or unexpected death. The women of her family, including Kate herself, all survived their husbands and didn’t remarry. While history tells us that Kate Chopin was happy in her marriage, she was aware that many women weren’t. By showing a marriage that had been built on control and society’s expectations, Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” highlights the need for a world that respected women as valuable partners in marriage as well as capable individuals.

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While this painting by Johann Georg Meyer wasn't specifically of Louise Mallard, "Young Woman Looking Through a Window" is a depiction of what Louise might have looked like as she realized her freedom.

"The Story of an Hour" Characters

The best stories have developed characters, which is the case in “The Story of an Hour,” too. Five characters make up the cast of “The Story of an Hour”:

Louise Mallard

Brently mallard.

  • The doctor(s)

By exploring the details of each character, we can better understand their motivations, societal role, and purpose to the story.

From the opening sentence alone, we learn a lot about Louise Mallard. Chopin writes, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.”

From that statement alone, we know that she is married, has a heart condition, and is likely to react strongly to bad news . We also know that the person who is sharing the bad news views Louise as delicate and sensitive. Throughout the next few paragraphs, we also learn that Louise is a housewife, which indicates that she would be part of the middle-to-upper class in the 1890s. Chopin also describes Louise’s appearance as “young,” “fair, calm face,” with lines of “strength.” These characteristics are not purely physical, but also bleed into her character throughout the story.

Louise’s personality is described as different from other women . While many women would be struck with the news in disbelief, Louise cries with “wild abandonment”—which shows how powerful her emotions are. Additionally, while other women would be content to mourn for longer, Louise quickly transitions from grief to joy about her husband’s passing.  

Ultimately, Chopin uses Louise’s character to show readers what a woman’s typical experience within marriage was in the 1890s. She uses Louise to criticize the oppressive and repressive nature of marriage, especially when Louise rejoices in her newfound freedom. 

Josephine is Louise’s sister . We never hear of Josephine’s last name or whether she is married or not. We do know that she has come with Richards, a friend of Brently’s, to break the news of his death to her sister. 

When Josephine tells Louise the bad news, she’s only able to tell Louise of Brently’s death in “veiled hints,” rather than telling her outright. Readers can interpret this as Josephine’s attempt at sparing Louise’s feelings. Josephine is especially worried about her sister’s heart condition, which we see in greater detail later as she warns Louise, “You will make yourself ill.” When Louise locks herself in her room, Josephine is desperate to make sure her sister is okay and begs Louise to let her in. 

Josephine is the key supporting character for Louise, helping her mourn, though she never knows that Louise found new freedom from her husband’s supposed death . But from Josephine’s actions and interactions with Louise, readers can accurately surmise that she cares for her sister (even if she’s unaware of how miserable Louise finds her life). 

Richards is another supporting character, though he is described as Brently’s friend, not Louise’s friend. It is Richards who finds out about Brently Mallard’s supposed death while at the newspaper office—he sees Brently’s name “leading the list of ‘killed.’” Richards’ main role in “The Story of an Hour” is to kick off the story’s plot. 

Additionally, Richard’s presence at the newspaper office suggests he’s a writer, editor, or otherwise employee of the newspaper (although Chopin leaves this to readers’ inferences). Richards takes enough care to double-check the news and to make sure that Brently’s likely dead. He also enlists Josephine’s help to break the news to Louise. He tries to get to Louise before a “less careful, less tender friend” can break the sad news to her, which suggests that he’s a thoughtful person in his own right. 

It’s also important to note is that Richards is aware of Louise’s heart condition, meaning that he knows Louise Mallard well enough to know of her health and how she is likely to bear grief. He appears again in the story at the very end, when he tries (and fails) to shield Brently from his wife’s view to prevent her heart from reacting badly. While Richards is a background character in the narrative, he demonstrates a high level of friendship, consideration, and care for Louise. 

body-train-19th-century

Brently Mallard would have been riding in a train like this one when the accident supposedly occurred.

  Mr. Brently Mallard is the husband of the main character, Louise. We get few details about him, though readers do know he’s been on a train that has met with a serious accident. For the majority of the story, readers believe Brently Mallard is dead—though the end of “The Story of an Hour” reveals that he’s been alive all along. In fact, Brently doesn’t even know of the railroad tragedy when he arrives home “travel-stained.”

  Immediately after Louise hears the news of his death, she remembers him fondly. She remarks on his “kind, tender hands” and says that Brently “never looked save with love” upon her . It’s not so much Brently as it’s her marriage to him which oppresses Louise. While he apparently always loved Louise, Louise only “sometimes” loved Brently. She constantly felt that he “impose[d] a private will” upon her, as most husbands do their wives. And while she realizes that Brently likely did so without malice, she also realized that “a kind intention or a cruel intention” makes the repression “no less a crime.” 

Brently’s absence in the story does two things. First, it contrasts starkly with Louise’s life of illness and confinement. Second, Brently’s absence allows Louise to imagine a life of freedom outside of the confines of marriage , which gives her hope. In fact, when he appears alive and well (and dashes Louise’s hopes of freedom), she passes away. 

The Doctor(s)

Though the mention of them is brief, the final sentence of the story is striking. Chopin writes, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills.” Just as she had no freedom in life, her liberation from the death of her husband is told as a joy that killed her.

In life as in death, the truth of Louise Mallard is never known. Everything the readers know about her delight in her newfound freedom happens in Louise’s own mind; she never gets the chance to share her secret joy with anyone else.

Consequently, the ending of the story is double-sided. If the doctors are to be believed, Louise Mallard was happy to see her husband, and her heart betrayed her. And outwardly, no one has any reason to suspect otherwise. Her reaction is that of a dutiful, delicate wife who couldn’t bear the shock of her husband returned from the grave. 

But readers can infer that Louise Mallard died of the grief of a freedom she never had , then found, then lost once more. Readers can interpret Louise’s death as her experience of true grief in the story—that for her ideal life, briefly realized then snatched away. 

body-heart-tree-wood-rope-red

In "The Story of an Hour," the appearance of hearts symbolize both repression and hope.

“The Story of an Hour” Symbolism and Motifs

  Symbols are any object, word, or other element that appear in the story and have additional meanings beyond. Motifs are elements from a story that gain meaning from being repeated throughout the narrative. The line between symbols and motifs is often hazy, but authors use both to help communicate their ideas and themes. 

  In “The Story of an Hour,” symbolism is everywhere, but the three major symbols present in the story are: 

  •   The heart
  • The house and the outdoors
  • Joy and sorrow

Heart disease, referred to as a “heart condition” within the text, opens and closes the text. The disease is the initial cause for everyone’s concern, since Louise’s condition makes her delicate. Later, heart disease causes Louise’s death upon Brently’s safe return. In this case, Louise’s ailing heart has symbolic value because it suggests to readers that her life has left her heartbroken. When she believes she’s finally found freedom, Louise prays for a long life...when just the day before, she’d “had thought with a shudder that life might be long.”

As Louise realizes her freedom, it’s almost as if her heart sparks back to life. Chopin writes, “Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously...she was striving to beat it back...Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” These words suggest that, with her newfound freedom, the symptoms of her heart disease have lifted. Readers can surmise that Louise’s diseased heart is the result of being repressed, and hope brings her heart back to life. 

  Unfortunately, when Brently comes back, so does Louise’s heart disease. And, although her death is attributed to joy, the return of her (both symbolic and literal) heart disease kills her in the end. 

body-room-window-outdoors

The House and the Outdoors

The second set of symbols are Louise’s house and the world she can see outside of her window. Chopin contrasts these two symbolic images to help readers better understand how marriage and repression have affected Louise. 

First of all, Louise is confined to the home—both within the story and in general. For her, however, her home isn’t a place to relax and feel comfortable. It’s more like a prison cell. All of the descriptions of the house reinforce the idea that it’s closed off and inescapable . For instance, the front door is locked when Mr. Mallard returns home. When Mrs. Mallard is overcome with grief, she goes deeper inside her house and locks herself in her room.

In that room, however, Mrs. Mallard takes note of the outdoors by looking out of her window.  Even in her momentary grief, she describes the “open square before her house” and “the new spring life.” The outdoors symbolize freedom in the story, so it’s no surprise that she realizes her newfound freedom as she looks out her window. Everything about the outside is free, beautiful, open, inviting, and pleasant...a stark contrast from the sadness inside the house . 

The house and its differences from outdoors serve as one of many symbols for how Louise feels about her marriage: barred from a world of independence.

Joy and Sorrow

  Finally, joy and sorrow are motifs that come at unexpected times throughout “The Story of an Hour.” Chopin juxtaposes joy and sorrow to highlight how tragedy releases Louise from her sorrow and gives her a joyous hope for the future. 

At first, sorrow appears as Louise mourns the death of her husband. Yet, in just a few paragraphs, she finds joy in the event as she discovers a life of her own. Though Louise is able to see that feeling joy at such an event is “monstrous,” she continues to revel in her happiness. 

  It is later that, when others expect her to be joyful, Josephine lets out a “piercing cry,” and Louise dies. Doctors interpret this as “the joy that kills,” but more likely it’s a sorrow that kills. The reversal of the “appropriate” feelings at each event reveals how counterintuitive the “self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being” is to the surrounding culture. This paradox reveals something staggering about Louise’s married life: she is so unhappy with her situation that grief gives her hope...and she dies when that hope is taken away. 

Key Takeaways: Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour” 

Analyzing Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” takes time and careful thought despite the shortness of the story. The story is open to multiple interpretations and has a lot to reveal about women in the 1890s, and many of the story’s themes, characters, and symbols critique women’s marriage roles during the period .

There’s a lot to dig through when it comes to “The Story of an Hour” analysis. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just remember a few things :

  • Events from Kate Chopin’s life and from social changes in the 1890s provided a strong basis for the story.
  • Mrs. Louise Mallard’s heart condition, house, and feelings represent deeper meanings in the narrative.
  • Louise goes from a state of repression, to freedom, and then back to repression, and the thought alone is enough to kill her.

Remembering the key plot points, themes, characters, and symbols will help you write any essay or participate in any discussion. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” has much more to uncover, so read it again, ask questions, and start exploring the story beyond the page!

body-whats-next-now-what

What’s Next? 

You may have found your way to this article because analyzing literature can be tricky to master. But like any skill, you can improve with practice! First, make sure you have the right tools for the job by learning about literary elements. Start by mastering the 9 elements in every piece of literature , then dig into our element-specific guides (like this one on imagery and this one on personification .)

Another good way to start practicing your analytical skills is to read through additional expert guides like this one. Literary guides can help show you what to look for and explain why certain details are important. You can start with our analysis of Dylan Thomas’ poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night.” We also have longer guides on other words like The Great Gatsby and The Crucible , too.

If you’re preparing to take the AP Literature exam, it’s even more important that you’re able to quickly and accurately analyze a text . Don’t worry, though: we’ve got tons of helpful material for you. First, check out this overview of the AP Literature exam . Once you have a handle on the test, you can start practicing the multiple choice questions , and even take a few full-length practice tests . Oh, and make sure you’re ready for the essay portion of the test by checking out our AP Literature reading list!

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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  • “The Story of an Hour”: Irony

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is not only full of symbols but also ironic situations and comments, making it having multiplicity of meanings.

Introduction to Analysis of “The Story of an Hour”

Besides superficial meanings, a literary piece has deeper meanings to tell like Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” which is not only full of symbols but also ironic situations and comments. From the face, it seems a very simple story of a lady who receives the news of the death of her husband and feels depressed. When the same news transpires the wrong report, she immediately dies due to cardiac failure. Yet deeper meanings are not the same as superficial ones. They show not only the character of a woman of the 19 th century but also the social and financial circumstances in which she lives and how marriage traps her. Kate Chopin uses multiple symbols and ironies to convey the real meanings of false love, marriage, and social issues related to the 19 th century through her story “The Story of an Hour.”

Spotting Themes in “The Story of an Hour”

My first reaction to the story is that of stupefaction. I, at once, realized the irony and its symbolical value when I read the last sentence. The heart vulnerable to suffering in the first line stops working due to happiness. What a symbol of the fickleness of mind that the writer uses! It is also that the story has several symbols used dexterously by Kate Chopin to make her meanings clear. The story opens with the mention of heroin. The stress is upon her heart as if she is suffering from some cardiac issue, but also that she has heart problems. It has both meanings that she is an amalgamation of not only physical but also emotional problems. The story shows “Mrs. Mallard … afflicted with a heart trouble” (Chopin) which is the major reason for the great care the news breaker has taken. This heart is also a symbol of society as marriage is the heart of any society and if society must have strong foundations, the marriage institution must get strengthened. Her heart may show the situation of the peril that the family institution faced in the 19 th century. This opens up another debate when the story ends where it shows that she has died due to cardiac arrest but not on account of sorrow but happiness.

Symbolism in “The Story of an Hour”

Kate Chopin has also used symbols such as time, patches of sky, and the chair. Some of them are even personifications. The time is of spring as Kate Chopin states about her that she could watch the “trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” (Chopin). All the next sentences show her jubilation over the situation she finds herself in. She thinks that now she is seeing all spring and no more autumn as she is going to free herself from the clutches of her marriage. In fact, spring is a symbol of happiness and shows how she views life. In this happiness, she sees all things expressing her feelings such as the patches of the blue sky. It is also a symbol of happiness and freedom. Earlier she thought of ending her life, but now the symbols have changed. Similarly, the chair has also become a significant symbol. The chair is personified when she hears the news of the death of her husband and sinks into it, but when this is over, she relaxes in it.

Irony in “The Story of an Hour”

As far as irony is concerned, Kate Chopin has used both situational as well as dramatic irony . The mere coming back of the dead husband is an example of situational irony. It is highly ironic that a person who is supposed to be dead and going through rituals comes alive home and is hardly aware of his own death. The second situational irony is that Mr. Mallard who should have come home dead, comes alive and Mrs. Mallard who is going to live a new life, dies on the spot. The greatest irony is that Mrs. Mallard is feeling happy and free, while others are worried that she might go into a comma or that this grief may cost her life. However, when the situation turns, they see that she, instead of dying of a heart attack, dies due to excessive happiness. Just read what the story says at the end, “When the doctors [states that it is] joy that kills” (Chopin). The other form is that of dramatic irony which is both when she cries though actually, she is happy that she is now free from her marriage locks. She is, in fact, thinking how wonderful life would be for her, while it is not the case for others who are thinking that life would be difficult for her and taking steps to make her comfortable. Her situation is that she is taking to her fancy imagining good old days of freedom, while her sister is taking care of her by clasping “her sister’s waist (Chopin) so that she should be consoled in any way. This shows how pretension and artificiality have been dominant in the 19 th century and how ladies are fickle-minded.

Conclusion of Analysis of “The Story of an Hour”

In short, Kate Chopin suggests the meanings through symbols and irony in this story. All the symbols used in this story have different meanings that correlate with the ironic situations and remarks. It shows that life in the 19 th century was witnessing fast transformations – the result of fast progress and modern ideas creeping into society. Marriage and false love were destroying social relationships which different symbols amply demonstrate here.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour . n.d. VCU. <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/>. Accessed 12 Mar. 2020.

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Literary Analysis: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin Essay

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Introduction

Works cited.

An overlook of the short story “ The story of an hour ” by Kate Chopin indicates that Mrs. Mallard was lacking the fullness of her life. Chopin uses literary devices to help the leader come to terms with the situation having been narrated.

The story starts by showing the health condition of Mrs. Mallard having a heart complication, and how the sister Josephine and the husband’s friend Richard found it difficult to break the news of the demise of her husband. Mrs. Mallard immediately started to weep over her husband after her sister Josephine took the responsibility of informing her about the husband’s death. The story shows that Mrs. Mallard’s character had a poor passion for her dead husband. In addition to it, she possessed the urge of being self-governing that could be seen trough the statement “she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept it’s significant” (Chopin 547).

Symbolism is used by Kate Chopin in the majority of paragraphs to represent an implicit meaning and inner understanding. The implication of sorrow and death wishes are well elaborated in the story through the author’s statement that “There were patches of the blue sky……in the west facing her window” (Chopin 547-548). In paragraph 8, the narrator indicates Mrs. Mallard as a “young with a fair…….” and has a “two white slender hands” (Chopin 547-548).

It is a symbolic feature to specify that the main heroine is a gentle, tranquil, and composed lady. The author also states that “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (Chopin 547-548). The use of the word “something” illustrates a symbol of rebellion from permitting the death of the husband to succeed in her calm-faced identity and control since she felt relieved from the husband’s rules and regulations.

In paragraph 7, metaphors are also applied, which can be found in the phrase “except when a sob………sleep continue to sobs in dreams” (Chopin 547). Herewith, the author compares a child who cries while sleeping to Mrs. Mallard locking herself in a room alone to sob in order to separate herself from the others. The phrase also shows the behavior of a kid after being cautioned.

Paragraph 8 explicitly expresses the personification of Mrs. Mallard: “She was young with a fair….. strength” (Chopin 548) as well as illustrates her uncertain change from a repressed individual to a person in grief over her husband, who kept her restrained from beyond.

Chopin incorporates similes in her work stating, “There was ….unwittingly like a goddess of victory” (Chopin 548) providing a very powerful, bold, and vicious representation of a woman who had overcome all the sorrow and grief over the loved husband.

The story title “ The story of one hour ” is ironic in nature. At first glance, the title implies that the story occurred within an hour, however, Chopin ironically increased the time span and made it occur within several days. The ironic part is that usually, the death of a spouse takes months or even years to get over it, but in Mrs. Millard’s case, it took her about an hour to control herself. Mrs. Willard’s death is also ironic in the sense that Chopin illustrates the need for Mrs. Willard to live in the story but at the tail end, the heroine had nothing more worth living for without her husband.

Thus, the story contains a message of appreciation of life a person lives and the need to perfect it while alive. This is clearly shown by Mrs. Millard’s life who did not realize that freedom and individual identity had been an important aspect of life until her end.

Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour, Vogue, United States, 1894. Print.

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The Main Themes of The Story of an Hour

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The essay delves into the unsettling lives and crimes of two notorious American serial killers, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, from their troubled childhoods to their heinous acts in adulthood. Despite the distinct modus operandi and victim profiles—Bundy targeted young women, while Dahmer preyed on young men—parallel threads run through their histories, notably traumatic family backgrounds and experiences that possibly served as a catalyst for their future crimes. Both exhibited early signs of psychopathy and violent tendencies and were marked by some degree of familial mental health issues. Their killings were closely tied to their sexual gratifications and their need to exert control. A notable discourse lies in the exploration of whether their horrifying acts were shaped more decisively by nature or nurture, with the author speculating that a confluence of both factors was likely. Both men, after committing a string of horrifying and repulsive crimes, met their own grim fates, closing dark chapters in American criminal history.

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    The Story of an Hour as an early feminist story. In your essay, you can study feminist aspects of Chopin's story. For instance, you may look into female liberation, marriage as a trap, and other similar themes. Mrs. Mallard's death as liberation. The main character of the story, Mrs. Mallard, longs to be free.

  2. The Story of an Hour Critical Analysis Essay

    The Story of an Hour was written by Kate Chopin in 1984. It describes a woman, Mrs. Mallard, who lost her husband in an accident, but later the truth came out, and the husband was alive. This essay will discuss The Story of an Hour with emphasis on the plot and development of the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, who goes through contrasting emotions ...

  3. What would be a good alternative title for Kate Chopin's "The Story of

    Share Cite. Chopin's own original title for the story was "The Dream of an Hour." This is an effective title in some respects, because it suggests that Louise's hopes for the future, while ...

  4. 116 The Story of an Hour Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

    Inside This Article. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short but powerful story that explores the complexities of marriage, freedom, and self-discovery. With its rich themes and thought-provoking narrative, this classic piece of literature has inspired countless essays and discussions.

  5. "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin: A Critical Analysis

    Introduction: "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, first published in 1894 in the St. Louis Life magazine, was later included in the 1895 collection "Vojageur" and in the 1895 edition of "Bayou Folk". This iconic short story features a unique narrative structure, where the protagonist ...

  6. The Story of an Hour Essay Topics

    Essay Topics. 1. Written at the turn of the 20th century, how does "The Story of an Hour" portray technology such as the railroad and telegraph? Does Chopin suggest any relationship between modernization or industrialization and social reality for women? 2. Does "The Story of an Hour" follow conventional Aristotelian tragic plot ...

  7. Analysis of Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    Analysis of Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on July 28, 2021. Originally entitled "The Dream of an Hour" when it was first published in Vogue (December 1894), "The Story of an Hour" has since become one of Kate Chopin's most frequently anthologized stories. Among her shortest and most daring works, "Story" examines issues of feminism, namely, a woman's ...

  8. A Summary and Analysis of Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour'

    In some ways, 'The Story of an Hour' prefigures a later story like D. H. Lawrence's 'Odour of Chrysanthemums' (1911), which also features a female protagonist whose partner's death makes her reassess her life with him and to contemplate the complex responses his death has aroused in her. However, in Lawrence's story the husband really has died (in a mining accident), whereas in ...

  9. Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"

    Introduction. This paper will provide a summary and an analysis of "The Story of an Hour," a short story by Kate Chopin published in 1894. Despite being only several pages long, the passage has become popular among readers. The title refers to the fact that the plot revolves around a woman and what she experiences throughout one hour.

  10. The Story of an Hour: a Critical Analysis

    Kate Chopin's short story, "The Story of an Hour," is a masterpiece of American literature, recognized for its exploration of complex themes such as freedom, marriage, and societal expectations. In this critical essay, we will delve into the narrative's underlying messages, character development, and the literary devices employed to convey its ...

  11. "The Story of an Hour" Summary & Analysis

    After her initial sobs of grief subside, Louise escapes into her bedroom and locks the door. She refuses to let Josephine or Richards follow her. Alone, she falls into a chair placed before an open window. Absolutely drained by her own anguish and haunted by exhaustion, she rests in the chair and looks out the window.

  12. A Literary Analysis of "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

    In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," the author skillfully employs literary devices to explore the theme of female liberation and the constraints of marriage. Through the lens of Mrs. Mallard's experiences, the story reveals the complexities of societal expectations and the potential for personal freedom. This essay will analyze how Chopin ...

  13. The Story of an Hour: Summary and Analysis

    Analyzing Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" takes time and careful thought despite the shortness of the story. The story is open to multiple interpretations and has a lot to reveal about women in the 1890s, and many of the story's themes, characters, and symbols critique women's marriage roles during the period.

  14. The Story of an Hour Study Guide

    About the Title. The title "The Story of an Hour" refers to the approximate time that passes during the story, a relatively short period during which big changes occur. ... This study guide for Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. ...

  15. Essays on The Story of an Hour

    9. How the story's title is important. 10. Your opinion on women's freedom today. "The Story of an Hour" Informative Essay. Informative essays teach your readers. Here are 10 topics: 1. Kate Chopin's life and how it influenced her writing. 2. The past and how women's lives were different then. 3. Explaining literary techniques and symbols in ...

  16. Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" Criticism Essay

    To illustrate, The Story of an Hour narrative is based on the supposed death of Brentley Mallard - the husband to Louise Mallard - thus reflecting a number of real life deaths that characterized Chopin's life. In 1855, when the author was just 5 years old, her father died in a rail accident. This death was significant to Chopin.

  17. What's a good thesis statement for "The Story of an Hour"?

    A good thesis statement for this story might discuss the fact that the original title of the story was "The Dream of an Hour." A good paper could be written discussing all the various ways and ...

  18. "The Story of an Hour": Irony

    Conclusion of Analysis of "The Story of an Hour". In short, Kate Chopin suggests the meanings through symbols and irony in this story. All the symbols used in this story have different meanings that correlate with the ironic situations and remarks. It shows that life in the 19 th century was witnessing fast transformations - the result of ...

  19. Analysis of Style, Tone, and Language in The Story of an Hour by Kate

    The essay analyzes Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," focusing on its style, tone, and language. The author highlights how these literary elements contribute to the story's success and its controversial nature.

  20. Literary Analysis: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin Essay

    to deliver a 100% original paper. Learn More. The story title " The story of one hour " is ironic in nature. At first glance, the title implies that the story occurred within an hour, however, Chopin ironically increased the time span and made it occur within several days. The ironic part is that usually, the death of a spouse takes months ...

  21. What does the title "The Story of an Hour" signify?

    The title "The Story of an Hour" is a statement on how, in a very short amount of time, important physical, emotional, and psychological changes can occur in people's lives that transform their ...

  22. The Main Themes of The Story of an Hour

    The ambiguously unexpected twist was shocking, Louise was beyond joy, overwhelmed. In The Story of an Hour, the prominent main themes are the deprivation of independence, and the unfairness or sexism that marriage holds. Both themes are obvious in which reflect the historical background at that time.

  23. Story Of An Hour Essays (Examples)

    In "The Story of an Hour," Chopin has introduced a character, Mrs. Millard, who relishes the freedom after her husband's death and dies when her husband returns in the end of the book. This relates to many women who actually undergo a two sided feeling at the time of their husband's death. Chopin understood all aspects of a women's psyche and ...