Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that "The Story of an Hour", written in 1894, by Kate Chopin could be the story of any married woman in the days when divorce was only possible if the woman could prove adultery and always attached a social stigma that made the woman "a grass widow". The author points out that Kate Chopin (1851-1904) didn't start writing until after her husband died; therefore, the story may express her own experience and feelings about the lack of freedom for married women. The paper concludes that the ending is ironic because the reader knows that the protagonist Louise Mallard didn't die of the "joy that kills" but rather she couldn't go back to being the woman she had been before her enlightenment.

From the Paper:

"Psychologist Abraham Maslow devised a hierarchy of human needs in which the need for self-actualization was at the top (Boeree, 1998, 2006). Women were largely prevented from satisfying the need for self-actualization because of what being a wife and mother demanded--marriage was supposed to be the focus and reason for her whole life. It seems likely at the beginning of the story that Louise Mallard embraces this 19th century consciousness of what true womanhood is, that she has indeed tried her best to be domestic, pious, pure, and obedient. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Boeree, C. G. (1998, 2006). Abraham Maslow: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html.
• Campbell, K. K. (1989). Man cannot speak for her: A critical study of early feminist rhetoric. New York: Praeger.
• Deneau, D. P. (2003). Chopin's The Story of an Hour. The Explicator, 61 (4), 210-214. Retrieved 30 April 2007 from Expanded Academic ASAP database.
• Kirtzner, L. G. and Mandell. S. R. (Eds) (2004). Literature, reading, reacting, writing. 5th ed. Boston: Thomson and Heinle Publishers.
• Welter, B. (1966). The cult of true womanhood. American Quarterly, 18 (2), 151-174.

More papers on Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour":

• Book Review # 107662 : "Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour"
• Analytical Essay # 148710 : "Epiphany in "The Story of an Hour"
• Analytical Essay # 44317 : "The Story of an Hour"

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