"The Story of an Hour"

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how Chopin takes a dim view of marriage in general in "The Story of an Hour". The paper looks at Chopin's own marriage, which although happy, ended in tragedy just like this short story. The paper looks at the unhappy marriage of Chopin's mother and discusses how this is reflected in "The Story of an Hour".

From the Paper:

"Kate O'Flaherty Chopin was born into a wealthy but unhappy family in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850. Her mother was nearly 30 years younger than her father was, and he was a gruff, controlling man who sent Kate away to boarding school when she was only five. The family kept slaves, and there is speculation that her father, Thomas, fathered at least two children with the slave women of the family (Toth 6-8). There is a startling similarity between her mother's life and the life of Mrs. Mallard, which leads the reader to believe Kate was writing about her mother when she composed this short story. In 1855, Kate's father was riding a train as it took the inaugural run over a new bridge. The bridge collapsed, and Thomas O'Flaherty was one of the men killed in the accident."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chopin, Kate. The Awakening, and Other Stories. Ed. Pamela Knights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
• "Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories." The Atlantic Monthly Nov. 2002: 125.
• Ryan, Steven T. "Depression and Chopin's 'The Awakening." The Mississippi Quarterly 51.2 (1998): 253+.
• Thomas, Heather Kirk. "Kate Chopin's Scribbling Women and the American Literary Marketplace." Studies in American Fiction 23.1 (1995): 19+.
• Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1999.

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