Gender Inequality, Dramatism and Irony in Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour Essay

Introduction

Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour presents one of the significant examples of literature where the format of the short story complements the plot and does not diminish the story’s depth. On the contrary, the story’s short and dramatic narrative emphasizes the severity of the social problem of marriage and its meaning for women’s freedom. In this paper, I will argue that in The Story of an Hour, Chopin used the main character’s death to reflect the importance of the social problem.

The Use of Narrative to Highlight the Social Issue

Firstly, it is necessary to point out that even though Chopin was not a feminist or suffragist, her works can be considered feminist literature. Thus, Chopin’s realistic view of the feminine perspective on marriage and women’s societal position contributed to further developing feminist literary themes. Therefore, the main idea behind The Story of an Hour was not focused on the fatal mistake but on the emotions experienced by the story’s main character.

Next, paying attention to how the author uses dramatic irony is vital in understanding the story. Mrs. Mallard did not die because of shock after seeing her husband alive and well; she died of “joy that kills” (Chopin 5). Moreover, only the reader and other characters can understand the situation’s irony. Therefore, Mrs. Mallard’s death is sourced purely from the strength of emotions she experienced at the moment.

Lastly, Chopin’s use of dramatism and irony in the story can be connected with the influence of Guy de Maupassant’s works on her writing. Chopin named Maupassant as one of her “two favorite authors” and even wrote translations for some of his works (Puckett 68). Death is one of the common themes in Maupassant’s works, and he often uses it to add dramatism to the story. However, when writing The Story of an Hour, Chopin no longer felt much interest in Maupassant’s works.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the paper established that the author needed to cover the social problem of gender inequality. The paper also states that the main character’s death in The Story of an Hour has no connection to the element of dramatic irony demonstrated to the reader. Lastly, the paper determined that other works of literature did not influence the story’s ending. Therefore, Chopin used the main character’s death to illustrate the importance of the social problem of gender inequality and emphasize women’s desire for freedom.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” 7 Best Short Stories: Death, edited by August Nemo, Tacet Books, 2019, pp. 2-5.

Puckett, James A. “Death and Divine Love: Kate Chopin’s Reading of Walt Whitman.” American Literary Realism, vol. 52, no.1, 2019, pp. 68-88. JSTOR. Web.