Analysis of "The Story of an Hour": Being Oppressed in Marriage

The Story of an Hour depicts what happens in a marriage when a wife is given news about her husband’s death by his friend from the office, Richard and her sister, Josephine. They carefully break the news to her because she has a heart problem. The story gives us insight on her feelings and thoughts towards this heart -rendering event where in the ending she makes a shocking discovery that her husband is alive, and it kills her. From this story we can see the “ Restrictions/Oppression of Marriage”. Although their marriage is one of love and kindness, she feels joy when she believes her husband is dead, but she is restricted by the thought of being happy without her husband.

Louise Mallard is a woman of independence and intelligence. Louise knows that wives are to mourn their husband’s death, but she doesn’t allow it to make her feel empty, so she cries. In her thoughts she believes that she is robbed of independence by nature of marriage. Her heart problem represents the ambivalence toward her marriage. She realizes the freedom she will have without her husband. Louise has not finish weeping for a dear husband as she longs to see his face and feel his touch.

However, the “open window” represents the lack of restrictions and determination, she never thought of while her husband was alive. She once again allows herself to dream of the freedom which allows to her to accept excitement. This helps her to look forward to the years to come where she would live for herself. She imagined a long-lived life with opportunities for her fulfillment. Louise was ready to accept a life where she had to worry about herself. After her self- determination, being ready to move on and having a rollercoaster of emotion and thoughts flooding her imagination. Louise goes downstairs to later discover her husband is well alive. Louise Mallard have now passed away of a heart attack by shocking news once again and the disappointment of her freedom being taken away once again by marriage.

Setting: Marriage Institution

Louise Mallard heart problem are both physical and psychological conflicts of this story. Physically we can see a problem with her at the beginning. Her heart beats fast and she is weakened by the news she locks herself in the room to understand what this means for her. Louise regains her strength when she thinks about her newfound freedom from having to live for another person. Here the story describes it as,” She did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her”. Psychologically she thought about what it would mean to hear the news of her husband being dead again. Her sorrow was because of Mr. Mallard not living again but not merely living without him. The death of his life gives her a new perspective on life, but it is solely taken away when he comes back alive. Louise Mallard is very emotional because she is denied the chance of freedom. The shock and disappointment kill her.

The story of an Hour is told by the narrator in third person as it relates to Louise Mallard emotions of the news. The story is like a big screen and the readers are looking in on it. The narrator tells us more about what the main character is thinking and not anyone else. We can see where she begins to relate to the character’s emotion in the third paragraph when she says,” Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul”. The narrator further relates to the thoughts that is going through the character’s mind. When she relates to freedom by the death of her husband. We see it here when she says,” She would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and woman believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow- creature”. The narrator then finally tells us what the reader would see when Louise leaves her bedroom.

Conclusion 

If we look deeper into the analysis of the story, we can see were women are being oppressed in marriage and are remaining silent but are only free from their oppression when their husband dies. You have a story that you can get from many other married couples where Louise did things against her will to please her husband. She was a woman that desired freedom but deprived of it by being married.