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Submitted by em246ef on October 25, 2006
Category: English
Words: 1336 | Pages: 6
Views: 1621
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Back in 1894, the American writer Kate Chopin wrote the short-story "The Story of an Hour". Chopin, born O'Flaherty, wasn't renowned as a writer during her time, but she has achieved recognition in the 20th century especially with her 1899 novel "The Awakening". Her stories about strong women have really been paid attention to in relation to this century's sexual liberation debate.
This short-story revolves around what goes through a person's head when informed that a close family member has perished. However, I wouldn't say that this is the theme of the story, which I'll get back to. Louise Mallard is a young, yet married woman who suffers from heart trouble, and that's why her closest relatives feel that they have to break the news to her as gently as possible. Immediately after hearing the shocking news, Louise starts crying, and storms into her room. Since Louise spends the majority of the short-story in her room, this is the setting of the story. No one really knows early in the story how Louise really feels about her husband dying. But the author certainly gives some evident hints.
The fourth paragraph's content, which revolves around the period of time where Louise has just entered her room, is fairly surprising. Everyone would expect Louise to weep with agony and pain, but instead she sits calmly down: "There stood, facing an open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair." The interested reader will already here discover that something is terribly wrong, since a word like comfortable is used. A newly widdowed woman would probably not look upon a chair as comfortable shortly after receiving the terrible news; the most likely reaction would rather be to smash the chair into pieces! From her position in the armchair, she suddenly starts studying the nature outside the window: "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 was singing reached her faintly,...
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