Story Of An Hour

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The Story of an Hour Essay The character of focus in the “ The Story of an Hour”, Louise Mallard, is described as a young, innocent women with a newly found inner-happiness and sense of freedom as a result of the death of her husband and the end of her demanding marriage. Kate Chopin uses symbolism and irony to develop the character of Louise Mallard throughout the short story. Included within the short story is symbolism, mostly dark due to the death of her husband. The symbolism shows the feelings of the character, her mood, and it foreshadows future events. For example, heart trouble is symbolic for love pain. This “pain” was a result from her controlling marriage and the overwhelming amount of energy that was required for her to keep the marriage functioning. However, after Louise reflects over the death of her husband and her new direction in life, the symbolism changes from dark to positive and light. One instance is the “open window” which faced her in her chair when she went into her room. The “open window” is mentioned multiple times throughout the short story and is present to refresh the idea of being free and having options. This is evident because as Louise contemplates about her new life, she is staring out the window the entire time, which is extremely symbolic. The window being open is symbolic of a new start or opportunity to start over. Also, the weather is changing to signify the new positive feelings and emotions that Louise is experiencing. For instance, the “delicious breath of rain” and the “blue sky” are both symbolic of a fresh, positive start to her new life. The weather is used frequently to express this. Another device used by Chopin is irony. The entire story is considered a piece of tragic irony because she dies from “heart disease” after she feels “heart trouble” from her lost love. The “heart trouble” is love pain, because her
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