"Free, free, free….””Free! Body and Soul free!” are the
words uttered by Louise, a now widowing woman, in Chopin’s short story called The Story of an Hour, which is derived from Chopin’s
actual life. At the age 20, Kate married
a gentleman by the name of Oscar Chopin, who passed away in 1882, leaving her
in charge of his plantation and general store. Kate Chopin was and is still considered
by some novelists to have been a forerunner of feminist authors of the 20th
century. She incorporated her rebellion and free spirit into her writings. Her second
novel, The Awakening, was written
about a women trapped in the confines of an oppressed society and had received so
much criticism because of its moral and literary standards. I think if she were
still alive right now, she would appreciate the 21st century, a
place where she can practice her feminism. She would have noticed that we are
now in a world where woman are actually working outside of the house, becoming
successful businesswoman by developing their own businesses, women are going
out and earning some sort of education, as well as even earning a higher income than
men and evening becoming bosses for major companies.
LISA STANTON
The Last Hour could be based on the possibilities of new opportunities being taken away when Mr. Mallard arrival to the house. In a short moment Ms. Mallard knew freedom and it was right as rain and it also rang from the outside through an open window. In that short moment her world had change and she was alright with change from the past. But that past walked in through the door at the end of the story. At the end of the story she had walked out of her room where she had experience a new re-birth and walked into the reality her husband had been hurt and was not on train when it crash. In a sense the train of emotion came crashing down as Mrs. Mallard looked at her husband open the door their house.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Kate Chopin would be pleased with the influence her work had. I couldn't imagine the difficulties of being one of the first to break through a social barrier. She must have been very head strong and determined to succeed.
ReplyDeleteJames Hester
At the end when Mr. Mallard walked into the room and killed Mrs. Mallard of a heart attack, the narrator describes her dying of "a joy that kills". I believe that refers to the fact that either she was so excited and gave herself a heart attack, or that she was so joyful in thinking of her new found freedom and then having it ripped away killed her.
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