“The Story of an
Hour”
Kate Chopin
“Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey.
It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly
carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the
accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at
Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view
of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart
disease—of the joy that kills” (1).
Josephine had finally felt free. She no longer wanted
to be married to her husband. She felt released, happy, excited. The arrival of
the spring season indicates that Josephine is ready for a renewal. She prays to
live many more years to experience a sense of freedom that she had lost in her
marriage. Ironically, her husband’s death provides her with a chance to
experience a new life.
This passage is gravitating because I’m not sure what
to think about Richards. My first thought is that he is trying to protect
Josephine from her husband, Bently. The language is interesting because he is
trying to shield Brently from Josephine. It seems to suggest that Brently is
the one that needs to be protected. Josephine does not seem like anything more
than an innocent housewife. Is it possible that she is controlling and
manipulative?
However, it also seems probable that Richards is in
love with Josephine and wants to be with her. When I read this for the second
time, I interpreted it as this complicated love affair. I also thought that perhaps
Richards orchestrated this entire scandal to make Josephine realize that she
does not love Brently. If he could convince her that Brently died and she
realizes how happy she is without him, would she begin to fall in love with
him?
There is a tragic sense of loss in this story because
the one person who has kept Josephine grounded for her entire life is the one
who also kills her. Josephine gets what she has always secretly desired, but
the same day, it is taken away from her. To me, this is murder. She dies
because she realizes that she can’t have what she wants. The one part that I
can’t understand is why she would allow her sister to take her downstairs. She
does not want anybody to see her in her current state of emotions, yet she goes
downstairs to sit with Richards. Is it possible she loves him too?
The irony lies in the fact that her husband is
completely oblivious to the entire situation. If I’m correct in assuming that
Richards is in love with Brently’s wife, he is unaware. He is also unaware of
the fact that she had cried not for his loss, but her freedom. She wept tears
of joy at his loss. At the end of the story, the doctors tell Brently that she
dies because of a “joy that kills,” however, the reader knows this is not true.
We know she dies because she can’t have what she wants. Richards hides Brently
from her view because he knows the end result. He knows she would be devastated
to learn the truth.
Hmmm, very interesting take on the more marginal characters. What does it mean for our interpretation of the story if we interpret Richards' motives in this way?
ReplyDeleteIf I interpret Richards' motives this way, I think this story says a lot about feminist ideals and the role of women. This story was written in a time when arranged marriages were the social norm. Women were severely restricted in their roles and contributions to society. As a result, women rarely marry the one they truly love. Unfortunately, women did not have status in both the political and social hemispheres to speak out against their marriages. They did not start gaining political momentum until the progressives movement in the 1920's. This sparked a change of social order and called for equal protection. During this time period, women are given the right to vote and call for prohibition. In terms of Mrs. Mallard, she is finally earning the independence she vehemently desires. If she loves Richards as much as she loves her, it could be a release for her. This is evidenced in the way her name changes throughout the story. In the beginning when she is married to Brently, she is referred to as Mrs. Mallard as if she is property that can only be identified as his. When Brently is presumed dead in the middle of the story, the narrator starts to call her Louise. She is released and free to do as she pleases. She could potentially forge a new life with Richards if she pleases but it is important that she is referred to as Louise. In the final scene when Brently returns home and she dies, the narrator reverts back to calling her Mrs. Mallard as a sign of possession and his hold over her. Unfortunately for Louise, she dies before she has the opportunity to foster a love affair with Richards which makes this story a tragic romance.
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