Essay 5-101
Moushomi Sinha
The Call of Freedom
Throughout her life, Kate Chopin, author of "The Awakening" and other short stories such as "The Story of an Hour," actively searched for female spiritual emancipation, which she found and expressed in her writing. Her poems, short stories, and novels allowed her not only to assert her beliefs for herself, but also to question the ideas of individuality and autonomy during the turn of the century. Unlike many of the feminist writers of her time who were mainly interested in improving the social conditions of women, she looked for an understanding of personal freedom that questioned conventional demands of both men and women. In the short story, ‘The Story of an Hour’, the main idea explored by the author is that of repression and a chance of freedom from the bondage and shackles of an unhappy marriage.
Chopin writes about a repressed woman, named Mrs. Mallard. She is afflicted with a heart problem, that may be real or a metaphor for her unhappy condition. Her sister and her husband’s friend break the news of her husband's death to her as gently as possible. She cries a little at the death of her spouse but after sometime, she locks herself in her room and quickly finds joy and a sense of liberation in his death. When she emerges from her room, she goes downstairs to find her husband returning home and she ironically dies from shock and disappointment, rather than joy as diagnosed by the doctors.
This simple storyline is made rich by expressive language portraying the emotions and feelings of the characters. Mrs. Mallard has a fragile heart and her sister was hesitant in breaking the news of her husband's death to her. Unlike most women who find themselves in denial after being told something of this magnitude she wept at once. Here the author makes a point about Mrs. Mallard being different compared to other woman of her time, who easily accepted being controlled by their husbands. Once she composed herself she locks herself in her room and would not let anyone in. She noticed things outside her window she had never noticed before. The author uses vivid imagery to describe her state of mind when she says, "The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves” (Para. 5). This shows that Mrs. Millard suddenly felt a sense of calm and peaceful happiness. The author also paints a picture of a clear day with the sky showing patches of blue clouds, birds singing and a “delicious breath of rain” (Para. 5) in the air, instead of showing a gloomy and dark day; the way weather is usually symbolized at the time of death. The weather can be considered as an indication of Mrs. Mallard’s prospect of freedom from the unhappy marriage.
‘Free, Free, Free’ (Para. 11) is the cry of Mrs. Mallard when she surrenders to her deepest feelings and realizes the implications of her husband’s sudden death. The author describes Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death as a reason to celebrate life. With her husband she felt repressed and unhappy and she rejoices in her new found freedom. She looks forward to the coming years in which she would live for herself instead of being dominated by her husband. The author interestingly reveals her name as Louise at the time when she is reveling in her freedom and looking forward to a life of her own. She is then no longer referred to as Mrs. Mallard, she is Louise, and she has her own identity because she is free from an unhappy marriage.
