In Kate Chopin's, "The story of an hour", a short story based on the central character's, Louise Mallard, change in life when she learns that her husband had a tragic death.The narrator does not disclose much about Mrs. Mallard; her foremost condition is that she is a faithful and dedicated housewife suffering from a congenital heart disease. Her situation becomes more tragic when she learns that her husband has died on a railroad accident-she breaks down into tears convulsively and retreats to her room where she grieved in solitude. During her confined loneliness her conscience takes over her as she undergoes a mental transformation. She has an epiphany, during which she felt as if the outside world seemed perfect and free. Spring was in the air and Mrs. Mallard felt reincarnated from the life she used to live in onto the new world, with several new things that she wanted to learn and experience. She started to realize that her ...view middle of the document...
The nineteenth century American society prescribed a rigid model of femininity to which its women should act in accordance with current customs. Notions of devout religiosity, limited intelligence and a passive sexual role surrounded the concept of femininity. The notion of women differing from men in that they are reliant upon their hearts rather than their heads, is a theme that dominates the prescriptive writings of the era. Women are presented not only as being less intelligent than men but also as almost devoid of sexuality. As a married woman, Mrs. Mallard does not receive as much love as she desires, and lacks the attention and quality that she deserves from her husband. Obviously, between two married couples the idea of an offspring is a natural thing, but having children requires the vital presence of her husband. For Mrs. Mallard to appreciate her husband's love he needs to be in her presence, unfortunately in the 19th the time that revolved around the end of the Civil war era and the birth of the Industrial revolution. With the industrial revolution, one deduces as to why Mr. Mallard was never in the presence of his wife and house, but rather at his work.Through describing Louise Mallard, it might be evident enough to see what sort of husband Brently Mallard turned into. However, one might disagree with the fact that Mr. Mallard is an unqualified husband, as his acts and Mrs. Mallard's conditions have a correlation. Mr. Mallard's behavior is out of love for his wife. Evidence of his devotion is witnessed within the Mallard's home. The absence of children is seen as medium for his love for her. As mentioned by the narrator at the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard suffers from a heart disease hence his reason for not wanting to have children. Her confinement from the outside world, and lack of participation with other feministic activities is also some of Mr. Mallard's signs of love for his wife. Brently is considered as a aggressive character who has much control in the marriage, leaving Louise with little but nothing to do rather than just remain under his control, which is seen as a control that is observed much throughout the nineteenth century society of men.
