In "The Story of an Hour," Chopin describes for us a story of great irony. We are introduced to Mrs. Mallard a woman who has just been informed that her husband is dead. At first she did cry and was saddened by his death, but then she was filled with an overwhelming sense of happiness and freedom. In the end though, Brently Mallard returns home. At the sight of her husband, alive and well, Mrs. Mallard passes away due to a "heart disease of joy that kills."
Many people would think that happiness and freedom is not a normal response, but I can understand how a woman can feel free from the husband that she has been with for a long time. First, we must consider the time period that the piece was written in, the late 1800's. It is common knowledge that marriages are not always about mutual love between two people and during the time that Chopin was writing, this was more often the case. Marriage was more about monetary comfort, social status and acceptance than it was about......
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Approximate Word Count: 765
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |