Themes in The Story Of An Hour Essay

The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin revolves around the theme the forbidden joy of independence. In the story independence is a forbidden pleasure that can be imagined only privately by Louise .Louise reacts in obvious grief when she hears of Brentlys death from Josephine and Richards. It was appropriate and quite normal for her to portray such behavior since Brently was her husband. However, when Louise was alone, she begins to realize that she is now an independent woman, a realization that invigorate and excites her. At first tries with all her will to suppress the joy she feels, even though they were her private thoughts. Such resistance reveals how forbidden this pleasure really is. She feels possessed by the joy when she finally acknowledges it and must abandon herself to it as the word free escapes her lips. Extreme circumstances have given her a taste of this forbidden fruit, and her thoughts are, in turn, extreme. She sees her life as being absolutely hers and her new freedom as the core of her being. Besieged, Louise even turns to prayer, hoping for a long life in which to experience this wonderful feeling. When Brently returns, he unknowingly seizes Louises independence from her, removing it once again from her reach. The forbidden joy vanishes as abruptly as it came, but the taste of it is enough to kill her.

Another theme explored by Kate Chopin in The story of an Hour, is The Inherent Oppressiveness of Marriage. Although Louise readily admits that her husband was kind and loving, she still experiences joy when she heard that he has died. Here, Chopin suggests that all marriages are oppressive, even the ones that seem perfect. The way Louise reacts doesnt suggest any hatred, and she knows that she would definitely cry at Brentlys funeral. However, she views his death as an ultimate liberation from oppression, although she never mentioned specific ways in which Brently oppressed her. This generally implies that marriage smother both women and men. Louises realization in which these thoughts travel through her mind suggest the oppressive nature of all marriages. It robs people of their independence.

The problem that Louise encountered with her heart is symbolic. It is a physical sickness that represents her unhappiness due to the lack of freedom and her uncertainty towards her marriage. Louises heart trouble make the announcement of Breantlys death seem very threatening. A person with such condition would not be able to deal with such news. By reflecting on her new found independence, Louises heart races and pumps blood through her veins. The diagnosis of heart attack seems appropriate, when she dies at the end of the story because the shock of seeing Brently alive was certainly enough to kill her. To conclude that Louise died of overwhelming joy is ironic since it has been the loss of joy that had actually killed her. The sudden lost of her much- loved independence merely contributed to her death.