Chopin's "Story of an Hour" and the Use of Symbol
Kate Chopin uses various symbols, such as the open window, the home, the heart, the news of death, and stairs, to convey themes of alienation and otherness, both of which underscore the ultimate irony in "The Story of an Hour" about a woman who happily "becomes" a widow only to find, tragically, in her moment of bliss that her husband is actually still very much alive. Chopin's main character Mrs. Mallard is unhappily married to Mr. Mallard and it is this unhappiness that sets her apart from other women: "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance" (Chopin) -- that is to say, Mrs. Mallard is set apart from other women by her lack of love for her husband. She eyes the open window and wants to be free. Her sickness is not the result of some physical ailment but rather the result of her psychological sense of oppression and suffocation, which she feels is the result of her marriage. News of her husband's death is like the bars of a prison door swinging open and setting her free. Chopin indicates as much through her through usage of various symbols.
One of the first symbols the reader encounters in the story that suggests how alienated Mrs. Mallard is from everyone is the "heart trouble," which her friends and family know she has -- though they ironically...
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