A Liberal Feminist Analysis of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”

Abstract

While men are given legal rights and economic power by the patriarchal society, women are subordinated to men and confined to the private sphere. Feminism appears when women demand freedom. This study deals with Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” (1894) in terms of patriarchal ideology. As a housewife Louise Mallard who is imprisoned in private sphere is forced to repress her feelings for the sake of her husband. Mrs. Mallard experiences the frustration of marriage which restricts freedom and causes her heart trouble. After receiving the news about her husband Brently’s death in the train accident while traveling in the public sphere, Mrs. Mallard is paralyzed and goes to her room in grief. When Mrs. Mallard looks at the open window and notices the open square in front of her house, she realizes her freedom. In order to relish her personal life, Mrs. Mallard wants to free herself from the patriarchal oppression. Mrs. Mallard wants to enable herself to deal with public sphere through her freedom. Seeing her husband alive, she dies of heart disease. Her heart is physically weak and has emotionally no room for anyone else. The removal of that intense joy of freedom leads to her death. Mrs. Mallard dies in her house where she has always sacrificed for her family.