The Oppressive Naature of Marriage in A Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin's short fiction, "A Story of an Hour" was written in the late eighteen hundreds prior to the civil rights movement that afford women new privileges. Chopin provides a view of marriage that at the time was not openly communicate but most likely common for that era. The main character, Mrs. Mallard, receives the news that her husband, Brently, has been killed. Instead of feeling complete loss and utter loneliness, Mrs. Mallard fells relief and new sense of freedom. A short time later when her husband returns home, the realization that her freedom has again been extinguished causes Mrs. Mallard to have a fatal heart attack. "A Story of an Hour" is a reflection of the oppressive nature of marriage that existed in that era.

Mrs. Mallard Mallard's character is revealed through a narrator's voice, not in first person. The narrator is not just an observer. The narrator is aware that Mrs. Mallard, for the most part, did not love her husband (Chopin, 15). It is conveyed that the narrator knows more than what is actually depicted in the story. The author never reveals what Mrs. Mallard is actually feeling. Rather the reader is forced to look into her actions and words to understand how she really feels.

Chopin communicates Mrs. Mallard's true feelings about her marriage through the physical description and private thoughts about the character via the narrator." The lines of her face bespoke repression" (Chopin, 8) indicates that she is held back in her marriage. When Mrs. Mallard hears of her husband's death she knows that she will be free. There will be no husband who believes he has the "right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature" and that there will "be no powerful will bending her" (Chopin, 14). Mrs. Mallard knows that her husband loved her. Brently Mallard had only ever looked at her with love (Chopin, 13). The reader gathers that Brently Mallard is not a bad man. His actions are justified in believing that his obligation as a husband is to direct Mrs. Mallard in every aspect of her life. In receiving the news of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard realizes that she is now free. Free to direct her own will. In her article, "Emotions in "The Story of an Hour", Selina Jamil shows the repression that Mrs. Mallard faces as a wife (Jamil, 216).

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Chopin shows that Mrs. Mallard is experiencing freedom from a marriage that is one of convenience and not love. Lawrence I. Berkove notes that there has been "virtual critical agreement" that the story is about female liberation from a repressive marriage (Berkove, 153). When she receives the news of her husband's death she repeats the words "Free, free, free!" and feels her body come alive. Her pulse beats faster, her blood runs warmer, and her eyes brighten (Chopin, 11). Mrs. Mallard sees the opportunity to be her own person. She knows that she can live for herself and no one else, that "all sort of days would be her own" (Chopin, 11), Mrs. Mallard looks forward to a long life, previously she had dreaded the years ahead spent under the thumb of her husband (Chopin, 19). She now has a new life to look forward to with the opportunity to experience many joys. This opportunity of freedom is taken from her when she learns that her husband is still alive. A wave of over whelming dread, disappointment and utter loss overcomes Mrs. Mallard when she sees her husband walk through the front door.

When Mrs. Mallard walks down the stairs with her sister, she has triumph in her eyes (Chopin, 20). The front door opens and the joy and anticipation of a new life is suddenly extinguished as Brently walks through the entry way. Mrs. Mallard knows that she will have to spend the rest of her life as her husband's wife. She knows she will never be free. This is too much for Mrs. Mallard to handle. Life had been depressing before, with her looking forward to the years ahead "with a shudder" (Chopin, 19). She has been shown a brief life without her husband. Her fragile heart cannot handle the disappointment and despair. Mrs. Mallard dies at the thought of losing everything she briefly gained.

Chopin tells the story of the emotional changes experienced by a woman who learns of her husband's death in "The Story of an Hour". During an era where every aspect of a woman's life was directed by her husband, Mrs. Mallard experiences the exhilaration of freedom as she learns of her husband's death. A short time later all hope and freedom is gone and the crushing disappointment kills her.

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