The third person narrator permits the writer the luxury of leveraging the magic of imagery, through analogies and comparisons, in order to describe the emotive experiences of Mrs Mallard. These techniques empower the reader. Through Chopin's linguistic paintings, we can feel Mrs Mallard's overwhelming joy illuminating a scene that would otherwise be wrought with grief. Our author's mastery of her literary skills, triumphantly etch their marks upon the pages of this tale with every word. However, it is at the conclusion of this story that we witness Chopin's adeptness. We see Mrs Mallard emerging from her solitary meditation as a conqueror in the last paragraph. The narrator uses an analogy and a comparison in order to share Mrs Mallard's emotive stance upon her exit. Chopin writes, “There was a feverish triumph in her eyes [...]”(Chopin, 1894, page 97). This portion of the sentence is the analogy, describing her conquering spirit. We can further support this analogy with a traditional cliché, that the eyes are the gateway to one's soul. Furthermore, the narrator describes Mrs Mallard's gate by way of a comparison. Chopin describes that “[...] she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” (Ibid). With a splash of words, our author creates an emotional conduit with her readers. Thus evoking emotions of victory, similar to those of Mrs Mallard, with the reader.
The vocabulary in this text, assists in establishing the setting. The meticulous choice of words highlight that the individuals involved in this story are amongst the educated, newly emerged middle-class or of bourgeois descent. The average person in the late 19th century would not describe their surroundings in such a romantic fashion. As well, the narrator describes Mr. Mallard as “[...] composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella.” (Ibid), thus letting the reader conclude that he is most likely a white-collar professional.
Chopin is rich with subjective descriptions. Consequently, we must focus some of our attention to symbolism. The staircase is the victim of our analysis. The wooden steps represent the downward walk toward repression, subjugation and conformity to the demands of classical patriarchy. Chopin's staircase is the polar opposite of a stairway to heaven. A stairway to heaven often represents an upward climb to bliss. Here, the staircase is shown as a descent toward a terrestrial hell. At the top of the staircase, Mrs Mallard is at the blissful height of victory with dreams of suckling the milk of freedom from liberty's breast. The top of the staircase is a life of independence. Conversely, the bottom of the staircase is a life of social chains and shackles.
However, the walls of her new reality come crashing down as the foundation of her bliss dissolves when her husband, Mr. Mallard, enters the room. Upon the sight of her husband, Mrs. Mallard lets out a piercing cry. This shriek is also symbolic. It represent the loss of her assumed freedom as well as the exodus of her life. We can further support this analysis through another common analogy, with her last breath. Mrs Mallard's last words on this earth were a cry. The pain of her shout stems from the sorrow of realizing that her dream of freedom has been crushed by her husband surviving the accident.
Chopin ends her masterpiece with beautiful irony. The last sentence, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills.” (Ibid), ties the story together. The first sentence of the story, informs the reader of Mrs. Mallard's heart disease. The last sentence of the story tells the reader that she died of this disease. Mrs Mallard was full of joy, hope and bliss upon receiving the news of deceased husband. However, when this reality abruptly came to a close, her heart could not endure the repression and subjugation to the will of her husband. Her choice was to either return to a blissful hell or death; her heart chose the latter.
Chopin's masterful use of subjective descriptions create a cadre permitting the reader to empathize with the main character. Furthermore, her story tells a tale reflecting the plight of many women during this time. Thus, the audience can easily relate to the situation. Many women during this time would have seen the death of the their husband as a release. However, the heavy foot of patriarchy would also make life for a widower very difficult. Thus, death is the ultimate exit from a multi-layered social prison founded on misogyny.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” The Harbrace Anthology of Short Fiction. 4th ed. Ed. Jon C.
Stott, Raymond E. Jones, Rick Bowers. Toronto: Nelson, 2006. 95-97.
