Compare and Contrast The Story Of An Hour by K. Chopin and the Red Room by H.G. Wells

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Compare and Contrast The Story Of An Hour by K. Chopin and the Red Room by H.G. Wells

      I have read two short stories from the nineteenth century which both contain tension and suspense. They both lead up to a sense of the unexpected at the end however it is achieved in different ways that they are told.

      The Story Of An Hour is the shorter of the two. The story starts suddenly and a tragedy is introduced immediately. The opening paragraph is very short as it is only one sentence but a lot of information is given to the reader. It is written in third-person narrative, which shows that the reader will be able to know things that other characters don’t. Two characters are brought into the story, Mrs Mallard and her husband. We are also told that her husband had died and that she has been suffering with ‘heart trouble’, ‘Mrs Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death’. This builds up the tension and suspense and makes the reader think that something is going to happen to her or that she could have more trouble following his death. The reader is drawn into the story as the tragedy shows that there could be sadness or misery. The detailed opening encourages images and ideas of how the story is going to progress, making the reader feel that a tragedy is to follow.

      The Story Of An Hour is set in Mrs Mallard’s house and as it continues the setting is moved to her room for a large section of the story. At the beginning, the setting is not obvious as the action starts suddenly without an explanation as to where the characters are. However in the third paragraph she runs up to her room, this indicates that she could be in her own house, alternatively she could be staying in a hotel or lodging in a house belonging to someone else. The exact setting is not made clear early on in the story. When Mrs Mallard is in her room the writer describes her position in the room, ‘There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank...’ showing a sense of comfort and a chance to escape from her problems. The writer then describes what she can see out of her window, expanding our view of the setting. The description of her surroundings is very thorough, ‘trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life’; this suggests that she is about to begin a new life and is a sharp contrast to the ‘death of her husband. The writer pays attention to small details, which emphasise the tragedy and misery that is going on inside the house. I think that the description helps the reader to predict what might happen and Kate Chopin achieved this by including ‘aquiver with the new spring life’. This gives the reader the impression that she could be about to begin a new life and that the news has brought her new hope. Whilst the story is set in her room it gives the story a solitary atmosphere and mood because she is alone which allows us to know what she is feeling, as the narrator explains things that other characters don’t know. The setting changes again towards the end given that Mrs Mallard descended the stairs and stands in what I consider to be the entryway to the house. This is where more tension and suspense is built up and where the story ends.

      The Story Of An Hour has a main, key event, which is the death of Mrs Mallard’s husband. This is then linked to the fact that Mrs Mallard is afflicted with heart trouble therefore breaking the news to her could worsen her condition. It encourages the reader to think about what effects the tragedy could have in the rest of the plot, she could have more trouble, she may not recover from hearing the news or she could take it very badly. The writer builds suspense in the opening paragraph by allowing the reader to think of a conclusion before continuing to read. Her sister, Josephine, had told her that her husband had been involved in a railroad disaster and had been killed. The writer then describes her reaction to the news. She tried to be as careful and gentle as possible while cushioning the blow so it wouldn’t be so much of a shock. Mrs Mallard’s reaction to the news wasn’t typical, ‘She did not hear the news as many women would have heard the same’. Her behaviour was different from what would be expected, as most women would be unable to believe what they are hearing however she cried immediately and uncontrollably, this reaction gives the reader a feeling of intense grief which makes reality seem like a sharp contrast. The next part of this story is spent with Mrs Mallard alone in her room thinking about what she will do now her husband is not there to support her, I think that initially she wanted to grieve for him but a feeling overcomes her, ‘motionless except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her’, this shows that she has no reason to cry. Then she begins to think of the positive aspects of his death as well as how her life will improve. When she went up to her room she sat in an armchair, ‘Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.’ This sentence shows that she was being affected by a physical reaction; it wasn’t her soul grieving just her body reacting. Since she is alone, she is given time to think and this is when she realises that she is unable to feel a sense of grief and that she could be better off without her husband. I think that she couldn’t be aware of these feelings when she was around family and friends because they expected her to be distraught therefore she couldn’t think about the life ahead of her. The narrator tells the reader exactly how Mrs Mallard is feeling and what she is thinking so we are able to get inside her thoughts. She sits motionless in the chair, having no reason to cry as sees opportunities and hope ahead of her. The realisation is that without her husband she can be free in herself and free to make her own decisions. While she was married her husband loved her although she had loved him sometimes. From the information the narrator gives about their marriage I think that within it, she had no right to think or make decisions so his death put a stop to this and she feels that she is free. The tension in this part of the story is introduced when we get inside the characters feelings. Knowing what Mrs Mallard is feeling makes the reader wonder how she will deal with her true feelings; whether she will try to act as a typical woman would or whether she will show her joy of her husband’s death. The suspense is steadily built up throughout the story, as there aren’t any sudden pieces of action. The story covers one hour as the title suggests but the narrator does not keep anything hidden, the feelings and thoughts of the character are described in great detail so the story seems to span over a much longer time period. Also, the title shows that Mrs Mallard must have become conscious of her true feelings within a small amount of time so she must have been quite sure of how her life would change for the better without her husband. The reader wonders whether such joy can last. The writer doesn’t complicate the story and there is a simple sequence of events, she just adds tension and suspense by letting us know what the characters are thinking.

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      The main character in the story is Mrs Louise Mallard. The story is focused around her; she has heart problems and the centre of the plot is how she will cope with the death of her husband. She is the main focus of the reader’s interest because she is the only character whose feelings we are allowed to look into in immense detail. Mrs Mallard is presented to us as a woman who is unsure of her feelings and maybe in a marriage where she was unhappy. She comes across as selfish to begin with, causing the ...

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