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Kate Chopin’s perception of a Woman and Marriage
What is the role of a woman in a family or a marriage? Some people would argue that a woman is a foundation for building a successful family. But, what picture does Kate Chopin paint of a woman in her story, the story of an hour? The story involves the central feminine figure Mrs Mallard, who receives the news about the death of her husband. Richard, one of her family friends, brought the news about the train accident in which her husband was a victim. She locks herself in her room as she sat aimlessly, watching the scenery of an open square in front of her house. At that moment, Chopin is attempting to divert the reader’s emotions to sympathize with her condition of confusion and grief. However, the reader can experience a change of perception. “When she abandoned herself, a little word escaped…she said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” (Chopin) as a result, this essay explores the image Chopin paints of a mother and wife in marriage in her two stories “The storm” and The Story of an Hour”. Besides, the essay also examines how the story resonates with other feminist narratives such as Mary Ferguson’s and Simone de Beauvoir’s.
First of all, the female cast is supported by Chopin as he states that women can sometimes be quite confusing when it comes to their general desires and personal emotions. An illustrative example is thus given to two women who defy the odds and acting according to their self-interest when presented with various opportunities. The expression of the above women acts and behaviours is thus achieved through the lead roles of Mrs Mallard and Calixta form The Story of an hour and the Storm respectively
With the words “free, free, free!” escaping her mouth, Chopin is dismantling the first impression that the reader develops when meeting her for the first time. Her reaction comes as a surprise to the reader who had developed sympathy towards Mrs Mallard. She reacts in a peculiar manner of behaviour for a bereaved woman who had just lost her husband a moment ago. Instead, she portrays a form of relief. Although she portrayed a grieving character initially, she is succumbed by her desire for freedom. As a result, the author offers her arising moment with regaining her absolute liberty as a woman.
According to Beauvoir, a woman is forced by marriage to think collectively and lose her independence because she acquires her husband’s name; his class, traditions, become part of his family and becomes part of him” (Beauvoir 429). As a result, the woman is deprived of her legal rights as an unmarried woman. At a marriage state, the woman is also unconcerned with instituting her relations with her partner but assumes the feminine duties in their generality (Beauvoir, pg435).
As a dedicated wife, a woman is perceived to be only thinking about her children and husband. As such, Chopin illustrates a different perception of Mrs Mallard in an hour of freedom. As a result, she paints a different image of a woman who has experienced the realization of her individuality. Moreover, the author portrays marriage as slavery that binds women under men’s wings. After along of time in the bondage of marriage, she has regained back her zeal and liberty, becoming alive again. In this case, it seems the death of her husband creates a way out of the bondage she has experienced for a long time. Therefore, the end of her husband symbolizes Chopin’s idea of restructuring the ideals of feminism, while overthrowing the patriarchal structures of the society.
Nevertheless, Chopin’s perception resonates with Ferguson’s ideas that a woman should not be supportive, submissive and should stay independent life” (Ferguson, pg6). Similarly, Chopin is transforming the concept of gentleness among women. For instance, she portrays Mrs Mallard as a woman who is not timid and rejoices at the opportunity to attain her freedom through her husband’s death. As a result, she has gained her individuality, and she is now not part of her husband.
Moreover, the craving for liberty can eat an individual from inside and drive her into uncompromising conditions. In Chopin’s two stories, the characters also experience this longing in almost similar circumstances. In the storm, Calixta develops a hunger for liberty in choosing to be with Alcee she anticipates that the storm may be inevitable, reflecting her relation with her husband. As such, the author has used the longing for liberation to indicate how marriage is a burdening to women. Marriage is a complex institution that raises the question as to whether one should remain honest and be depressed, or be free and happy. Before Calixta arrived, Alcee felt a sense of power and delight. However, “when he possessed her, they seemed to swoon together at the very borderland of life’s mystery” (The Storm, pg 436). Besides, Chopin supports the perception that it is morally right to be free and satisfied without a husband. As such, the story of an hour demonstrates that Mrs Mallard felt a sense of freedom from the news about her husband’s demise. She comes to an understanding that “what love, the unsolved puzzle, mean in the face of this possession of self-assertion” (pg426). Therefore, the comparison of Mrs Mallard and Calixta show that they are both happy without men.
The feelings of imprisonment cannot only be expressed by those in incarceration alone. The characters in the two of Chopin’s stories show distinct internment, but both converge in the same longings. In The Story of an Hour, emotional imprisonment is portrayed in Mrs Mallard. This is based on the perception that her husband subconsciously prevents her from adorning herself. “No one to live for her during those coming years” (pg426). As a result, the author is showing that emotional and physical imprisonment from a man makes women devalue themselves.
Similarly, Chopin demonstrates emotional imprisonment in “The Storm” through Calixta who experiences a sense of physical imprisonment when her husband and son leave. Remaining alone in the house, she stood by the window with “a greatly disturbed look on her face” (pg435)
Finally, the prominence of Chopin’s ideas become imminent final part of the story: our central character Mrs Mallard’s husband turns out to be alive while she dies. It is a twist of events that can be interpreted as the danger in our desires. The discovery that her husband is alive feels her with extreme joy. Therefore, in this particular stance, the author passes a crucial lesson on how society may perceive things in the wrong way. In this case, society has created the false perception of women’s position in a marriage
References
Chopin, Kate. The story of an hour. Joe Books Ltd, 2018.
De Beauvoir, Simone. “The second sex, translated by HM Parshley.” New York: Bantam (1952).Chopin, Kate. The awakening: and other stories. Oxford Paperbacks, 2000..
Ferguson, Mary Anne, ed. Images of women in literature. Houghton mifflin, 1973. Company.