The Story Of An Hour Essay Sample

The story has surprised me, as the plot is truly unpredictable, and the dramatic changes are remarkably described with the help of simple language. However, the ending appeared to be the most surprising part, because I did not expect that the character is to die in the end. The appearance of Mr. Mallard was also unexpected and drastically changed the mood of the story.
1. The setting is limited to Mallards’ house and one hour, and the majority of the story happens in one room. It is used to show the oppression and limitedness of Mrs. Mallard life in her marriage and society.
2. The major themes are the marriage and its relation to freedom. Chopin shows how it is difficult to find the life fulfilling when a person is married, because it definitely affects person’s freedom. Moreover, it is shown that a woman is oppressed by the marriage and social norms, and she is not allowed to live the way she wants, but rather conform to others’ rules.
3. The major ironic element in the story is dramatic, as everyone thinks that it is difficult for Mrs. Mallard to cope with grief, while she is actually happy. The irony gets even more dramatic in the end of the story, as everyone believes she dies from joy of seeing her husband, while on the contrary she dies because she cannot imagine the continuation of her unhappy life with him.
4. Foreshadowing is used to hint about Mrs. Mallard’s true reaction to husband’s death by saying that her behavior is different form the other women’s and by depicting the elated images she sees through the window. Her death is foreshadowed in the beginning of the story with the mention of her heart trouble and references to her heart beating throughout the text.
5. The major conflict is internal conflict of freedom and oppression in marriage, as Mrs. Mallard has to deal with her inner reaction to her status in marriage and society, while it is realized through external conflict between husband and wife that is not depicted that much in the story.
6. Third person limited point of view allows the reader to dive inside the character’s mind, but not all the time. It makes the action in the story going, as the truth is revealed gradually by the narrator.
7. Mrs. Mallard is round character, complex and full of inconsistencies, as real people are. The character is revealed through the series of dynamic changes, which she undergoes in the story, and her personality is all-roundly depicted.