Verified Document

Conflict Between Exterior And Interior Life With Characters In 3 Short Stories Research Paper

Conflict Between Exterior and Interior Life Kate Chopin's "The story of an Hour" offers a story behind a story. First it can be noted that this talks about Mr. And Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard received a news that her husband has just died. This prompted for a roller coaster of emotions to build inside her heart and mind.

First, she felt sadness. She was saddened by the fact that she is now alone and that her husband will no longer be with her. But the feeling of sadness did not stay for long in Mrs. Mallard's heart because she suddenly realized that she is now free. The death of her husband would mean that nobody will hurt her anymore. Because her husband is dead, nobody will discriminate her anymore. Nobody will make her feel that she is just a low or second class citizen. Nobody will prevent her from doing what she wants and having what she likes. Needless to say, the death of her husband is synonymous to the idea that she has gained her freedom, hence she felt extreme excitement and happiness.

There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they ahve a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

And yet she had loved him -- sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!

Free! Body...

Mallard's case, because several minutes after she felt the happiness, Mr. Mallard entered the door. Naturally, Mrs. Mallard was shocked. She did not know what to feel by this time. Will she be happy knowing that her husband - the person whom she has lived for several years - is alive? Or would she feel distraught knowing that she has not yet gained her freedom after all?
What happens next was a bit of a shock for the expectators. Mrs. Mallard collapsed with her face showing signs of happiness. Mrs. Mallard did not stand anymore for that collapsed turned into her eventual death. The people who witnessed what had just happened thought that Mrs. Mallard died of happiness because her husband is found alive. Yes, it was true, she died because of happiness, not because her husband is alive after all, but because of the realization that death will provide her freedom.

When she abandoned herself] a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "Free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body." (Chopin, 1969)

This is the one of the best example of a big difference to what is perceived as the interior from what is seen in the exterior. Mrs. Mallard's physical reaction is perceived differently to what she was really feeling inside.

The much-anthologized "The Story of an Hour" is surely Kate Chopin's best-known piece of short fiction. Innumerable students, ranging from the very naive to the very sophisticated, must have grappled with the story in discussions and essays. As all readers should agree, Louise Mallard receives a great shock, goes through a rapid sequence of reactions,…

Sources used in this document:
Reference:

Chopin, Kate. The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. Ed. Per Seyersted. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1969.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Gish Jen's Short Story Who's
Words: 1694 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Tran discovered her vocation for writing during her college years, and now, after having read at Gabriel's recommendation the American novel Gone with the Wind, she decides to write something similar and place in the context of the Vietnam War. Placing its events during the war between North and South, Gone with the Wind is just another story of the way in which the racist and cultural confrontations affect

Sexual Fantasy
Words: 2129 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Sexual Fantasy: Coming of Age in Modern America Portnoy's Complaint and The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao are two bildungsroman (coming of age stories) that suggest there are profound discrepancies between exterior and interior realities. Like The Bonfire of the Vanities, another classic chronicle of the tension between social personas and the dark underbelly of individual psychologies, these stories suggest that to be an American is to have a divided

Film Noir Movement by Examining Two Films
Words: 3114 Length: 9 Document Type: Research Paper

film noir movement by examining two films from the genre made at two different times within the movement. This will first mean looking at definitions of what classifies a film as noir and then looking at conventions of the movement such as: story, character and setting. This will explore how production value expresses the story and acts as an important filmic tool. The first movie to be discussed is

Impact of Likeability in Management
Words: 17400 Length: 60 Document Type: Dissertation

likeability is effected by management in the international workplace. It assumes a phenomenological approach to the notion of likeability, and is based on the idea that likeability in management is fundamental to achieving "connectedness" among employees and to inspiring the drive needed to ensure an organization's success. By conducting a survey of employees and managers from every major business continent of the globe (Asia, Europe, America, the Middle East),

Plato and Aristotle on Passion
Words: 6297 Length: 20 Document Type: Essay

Reason vs Passion: Comparing Aristotle and Plato Introduction It must be well known among all students and scholars of philosophy that both Plato and Aristotle have a high regard for reason. But what is their view on passion? It might be surprising to learn that neither philosopher holds a negative view of passion in and of itself—what both do, however, point out is that passion should be subservient to reason. Passion that

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Words: 2318 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Paper

Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now Comparing and Contrasting Coppola's Apocalypse with Conrad's Darkness While Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now is framed by the music of The Doors, Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness, upon which the film is based, uses the narration of Marlow as a framing device for the murky tale of the "horror" that hides in the human heart. The difference in framing devices has more to do with

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now