 Hello and welcome to a summary of all you need to know about the story of an hour, which is a short story by Kate Chopin. Now, I'll explain the meaning related to this text as it appears in the Pearson International GCSE anthology and I'll highlight literary and language devices as well as contextual factors that you should be aware of when studying this short story. So let's get started. Now before I delve into the story itself, it's important to know some context relating to this story. The story of an hour was originally published in Vogue, the iconic fashion and lifestyle magazine back in 1894 and the story was actually called the dream of an hour. It was later renamed the story of an hour in 1895. Now, do you remember this story was written at a time when women had very few rights? Indeed, women would have to wait until 1920 in the US to have voting rights, which was well after Kate Chopin herself died and this was in 1904. So women had really constrained and very likely tightly controlled lives and they were solely defined by their value in their households as wives. So we can see the story almost as a critique by Chopin of society at this time and how narrowly defined women's roles were. So what I'll do is read through this passage and highlight literary techniques that Chopin uses in this story. So let's begin. Knowing that Mrs. Malod was afflicted with great heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death. It was a sister Josephine who told her in broken sentences, failed hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friends Richard was there too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the royal world disaster was received with Brentney Malod's name leading the list of the killed. He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by second telegram and had hastened to full-store any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message. She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same with a paralyzed inability to accept a significance. She wept at once with sudden wild abandonment in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her. There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable roomy chair. Into this she sank, pressed down by physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. Now this opening is really interesting because essentially we learn about Louise Malod, the main character of this story, who has become widowed and it starts in media array. So these first two lines essentially start in the middle of the action. Now it's really interesting because of course how Chopin writes is very ironic. She essentially is using language to show just how as society with presumed Mrs. Malod is very fragile. Therefore Josephine, who's her sister and husband's friend Richard, they take great care to reveal this information to her because of course at this time women's lives were really defined by being married and really if they were widowed essentially part of that life of theirs which is highly defined by the husbands is gone. Now the proper noun here at the beginning in the first paragraph introduces us to of course the main character as I've mentioned and the pre-modifying adjective here heart trouble emphasises how helpless Mrs. Malod seems to others outside of her and of course how women are depicted as quite helpless especially at this time in society. Furthermore, the adverb gently further emphasises this sense of helplessness that Mrs. Malod should have and of course the alliteration here her husband shows the very sudden nature of her husband's passing. So now the proper nouns Josephine and Richard as I've mentioned introduce her to both her sister and her husband's friend and Josephine interestingly speaks to her in broken sentences. Again, this idea of her being helpless almost like a child is really emphasised through this description. Now the reference to the railroad disaster this refers to trains at the turn of the century so much more rudimentary trains and of course this is setting us in the time that it was written which of course is the 1800s America. Now there's cataphoric reference made by Brent Lee Malod so always remember and for it is when there's a main subject who's repeated continuously throughout and reinforced cataphor or cataphoric reference is when initially we'll learn about a character indirectly and we don't know the main character and then their idea or the identity is revealed later on. So as I mentioned before the alliteration her husband he's mentioned but then this cataphor then tells us his name. Now we learn that Richards had hastened he was really really quick to action of course is emphasised through the alliteration and the comparative adjective here less careful again emphasises this idea that they're being very ginger in the movements and in the language when they're talking to Mrs. Malod they believe that she's just too weak to take on this information. Also the complex sentence here she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same with a paralysed ability to accept a significance. Now here this is an interesting sentence because actually it's showing that contrary to what society expects or believes about women like Mrs. Malod actually she has a slightly different reaction to when she learns that she's widowed and this is further emphasised within the sentence when the author Chopin says many women so of course this is showing that actually Mrs. Malod was quite unique. Furthermore it's interesting that Chopin uses language related to the semantic field of sadness and grief so of course she uses the word wept and grief. However it's interesting that she weeps with wild abandonment and this is an interesting choice of words because the term wild abandonment really shows this torrent and outpouring of emotions and it's interesting that actually rather than being completely broken down she's crying with abandonment. I think when we're using this term it's something that's quite freeing liberating so we start getting hints that actually this death might be quite liberating for Mrs. Malod as foreshadowing this for us. Also of course here the personification the storm of grief had spent itself this shows Malod's really dramatic reaction to learning her husband's death and the simple sentence here she would have no one follow her shows she's been quite secretive once she learns about this rather than wishing to be surrounded by as many people to really support her. Actually she emphasises her independence by wanting to mourn seemingly mourn alone. Also there's a syndeton used here. They're stood facing the open window a comfortable roomy chair and what this shows is this highlighting Mrs. Malod's growing excitement at the possibilities that are before her now that she's a widow. Also the sibilance she sank makes us wonder if Mrs. Malod is depressed or if she's experiencing a different emotion again we as readers are quite shocked we're not expecting to hear that a widow is maybe happy that her husband has died. Also the litteration here pressed and physical this shows that maybe she is being pushed down her spirit was being pushed down by something and maybe now it's going to be released it's going to be liberated. Furthermore there's hyperbole here so this exhaustion seems to reach into her soul so we start wondering what is this thing that was really oppressing her so let's carry on. She could see in the open square before her the house or the tops of trees that were all quiver with new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air and the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly and countless barrows were twittering in the eaves. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that have met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window. She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair quite motionless except when a sob came up in her throat and shook her as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams. She was young with a fair calm face whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought. There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it fearfully. What was it? She did not know. It was too subtle and elusive to name but she felt it creeping out of the sky reaching toward her through the sounds a sense the colour that filled the air. Now this is a really really interesting development of the story. Now initially in this part of the story Chopin uses language related to the semantic field of nature which shows actually that Mrs Mallard is starting to feel a real sense of freedom. Also the spring that's being used here this natural setting symbolizes Mrs Mallard's excitement at freedom and the chance of a new life. And the sensory language that's used here delicious breath of rain and of course the personification of rain here shows that she's actually really excited. So the language is reflecting Mallard's own internal excitement. We wonder if actually this might reflect her feeling a sense of joy now that her husband has passed away which again is quite surprising. It's a complete opposite of what we expect when someone is widowed. Also onomatopoeia here again relates to language which comes with spring. Spring symbolizes new life and here she can hear birds twittering. This is a very beautiful sound so again it's really interesting she has a completely contrasting reaction to what we expect of somebody who's learnt that her husband has passed away. Furthermore there's vivid imagery of patches of blue sky which and this shows and represents the boundless opportunities that face Mrs Mallard now that she's a widow. Furthermore the mention of the clouds shows that perhaps she felt the marriage was like a cloud for her it was quite oppressive to her. Now the fact that her head is thrown back now the alliteration her head and the dramatic verb thrown shows that she seems somewhat jubilant at her husband's death. However it's really interesting that this simile as a child has cried itself to sleep still somewhat infantilizes her reaction. Now there's this repetition of her sobbing and this is quite vague because at this stage we wonder if she's grieving or if she's maybe crying tears of happiness. Also line 25 now gives us really vivid description of how she looks like and we learn she's actually quite a young widow so the description young fair calm faced it shows just how young she probably was when she married. Also the abstract noun repression shows again highlights that the marriage perhaps for Mrs Mallard was quite a repressive experience for her and this notion of her having a certain strength portrays her as enduring hardship almost like it's her duty as a married woman to endure hardship. Also the reference to her eyes eyes are actually a symbolic window to the soul so of course these eyes are showing us what her real feelings are and she's looking away. Moreover the notion of her having a suspension of intelligence thought essentially what this is showing is that she had to hide and veil her intelligence during her marriage. She had to hide who she really was and even the fact that she was a thinking intelligent rational being. Now in line 29 the reference to something this noun is quite mysterious we're not entirely sure what's coming to her and the hyperphoria here what was it she did not know. Now what this is doing is creating a sense of mystery and intrigue for us as readers. Furthermore the repetition of the third person pronoun it again it creates an adds a sense of mystery we're wondering what's happening to change her and the intensifier to it was too subtle again this adds the mystery what is this internal change very likely happening within Mrs Mallard. Furthermore the tricholon the sounds a sense the color the powerful sensory language used here shows her excitement at the promise of being an independent woman after being widowed. So let's carry on. Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously she was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her and she was striving to beat it back with her will as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath free free free the vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes they stayed keen and bright her pulses beat fast and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body. She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her a clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind tender hands folded in death the face that had never looked save with love upon her fixed and gray and dead but she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely and she open and spread her arms out to them and welcome. Now this part of the passage is actually a really interesting turning point because now we realize that actually Mrs. Mallard felt really oppressed by this marriage and now it's really clear to us as readers that she's actually excited the prospect of being a widow. She's no longer going to be bound by the duty to her husband she's going to have her own will and she's only going to have to look after herself. Now the complex sentence here where it states her bosom reason felt tumultuously this signifies the Volta the turning point of this story because Mrs. Mallard from this stage onwards seems really excited and exhilarated at her freedom. Furthermore the adverb tumultuously is quite violent so it's this real sudden shift in her feelings. Moreover the alliteration here this thing is quite mysterious and intriguing again it as this sense of mystery what is this thing what is this feeling that she's having. Furthermore we learn that she was still striving to beat this feeling back and it represents her constant repression and do remember again considering context women were expected to really just serve the needs of their family that didn't necessarily have the opportunity to really engage in self-discovery and of course this is shown through this repressive nature of Mrs. Mallard herself. Furthermore we learn of the two white slender hands and the adjectives here show just how dainty Mrs. Mallard is again adding to the idea that she's quite young probably as a bride but also just how happy she seems in spite of what society might expect of her. Furthermore there's this juxtaposition that we are told about how she abandoned herself. Now this could be a contrast between her real self versus her false and social self so this is her real internal feelings versus how she should act in the face of society so she's trying to abandon this false social self that she's cultivated over the years. Also the literation whispered words shows how fearful and tentative she feels at her growing emotions and her growing excitement at freedom. Also the repetition she said it over and over shows her excitement and this is further emphasised and there's a Christendo moment here where she repeats free free free and the exclamatory sentence here is quite surprising for us because we now really realise that she felt extremely repressed in her marriage and again contextually this could maybe make us question whether Chopin herself who was also married may she have also felt a similar repression. Furthermore she talks about the vacant stare and the look of terror she was terrified at her new found freedom she's not used to being free and not being told what to do by somebody. Also there's this sense of vibrancy and aliveness through these terms keen and bright and she seems so excited and also this is compounded by the description of how her pulses beat fast her heart is beating she's extremely excited. Furthermore she describes this joy or rather Chopin describes Mrs Mallard's joy as a monstrous joy which shows of course that Mrs Mallard feels somewhat guilty at being so happy. Also the repetition of the third person pronoun she fixes on Mrs Mallard's transformation as she realises her freedom. Furthermore the semantic field of body parts here hands and face refers to her husband's corpse and the syndantic listing and the rule of three here fixed and gray and dead essentially describes maybe how she felt towards her husband. Now we learn that she sees beyond that bitter moment and the alliteration here shows that she feels her future is really promising once her husband's death and his funeral is over and done with. Furthermore the adverb here absolutely shows that she feels really unshackled from the duty of marriage and she then opens and spreads her arms out so there's a sense of her jubilance. So let's carry on. There would be no one to live for those coming years. She would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature. A kind intention or a core intention made the act seem no lesser crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination. And yet she had loved him sometimes. Often should not. What did it matter? What could love that unsolved mystery count for in the face of this possession of self assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being? Free. Body unsolved free. She kept whispering. Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole imploring for admission. Louise, open the door. I beg, open the door. You will make yourself ill. What are you doing Louise? For heaven's sake, open the door. Go away. I'm not making myself ill. No. She was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. Now here of course we now really see her transformation. She also shows her resentment towards how society really really oppresses women's wishes and wants in favour of what men expect her. And Louise Mallard now starts becoming very assertive. Now when it states no one to live for, this emphasises just how Mrs Mallard felt really oppressed and trapped by her duty and gender both to society but also of course to her marriage. And here she would live for herself. So do remember that at the turn of the century women were expected to be quite self-sacrificing to live for their families and their identities were really highly defined by their marriages. Also the reference to no powerful will shows a symbol of patriarchal society. Furthermore the fact that she is talking about how patriarchal society has both men and women who believe they have a right to impose their private wills. This shows actually that she feels both genders are quite complicit in her oppression and the oppression of women in society. And also of course it's really interesting when we consider Kate Chopin what her message was of this story. This idea that actually the patriarchal society which favours men and men being in power actually it's both women and men who uphold this social structure. Now there's Oxy Moran here, a kind or cruel intention. However she feels that both coming from men and women it's all the same to her it's still part of upholding this patriarchal society which is reprehensible. Also there's this hyperbole used here and again it perhaps could show Chopin's own feeling towards how she felt that the way women were treated in society was a crime. Also the language that's used, illumination shows that Mrs Manlard is starting to really feel a sense of enlightenment and a sense of ease at the world. Now the declarative sentence here is interesting yet she had loved him sometimes and it shows her conflicting feelings towards her husband. She maybe loved him because she felt compelled to her society but actually she loved him only sometimes because she actually internally she didn't really love her husband. And again this is emphasised when it states through the simple sentences often she had not what did it matter because now she realises even if she never really truly loved him it doesn't matter now because she's now a widow. She doesn't have to worry about that. Furthermore it's still a mystery, this unsolved mystery, this idea of love being an unsolved mystery. It's a mystery to Louise Manlard because she's still not genuinely experienced love. The person she's married to she never quite loved so this is also very sad because it shows of course women married out of duty rather than marrying the men that they loved. Also there's this notion of self assertion and this idea that now Mrs Manlard is going to experience freedom as a woman. Now the exclamatory sentence here again she really whispers this idea of freedom. She's free and it shows that she's really excited and it's interesting because her sister Josephine is mentioned again. The proper noun here represents the outside world returning in and imposing its will on her. And Josephine is persistently imploring her to open and of course this is emphasised through her lips being in the keyhole. She's asking her to do something and she keeps on asking her open the door. I beg open the door and Josephine here is portrayed as quite relentless. She's ordering Louise around just like society orders women around. And of course it's also interesting that Josephine herself as a woman still ordering another woman like Louise around. Now Louise becomes really assertive. She uses the imperative sentence go away and it shows that she actually now is starting to take bold decisions to control her own life. She also speaks her own thoughts and she's very open and very frank with her sister. And the metaphor of very eglicia of life it shows her freedom and independence. She feels really excited at being a widow. So let's carry on. Her fancy was running right along those days ahead of her. Spring days and summer days and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of victory. She clasped at her sister's waist and together they descended the stairs. Richard stood waiting for them at the bottom. Someone was opening the front door with a latch key. It was Brittany Mallard who entered. A little travel stained, conversely carrying his grip sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry and Richard's quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife. But Richard was too late. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease. Of the joy that kills. So now Heather's a twist in the story because as it ends essentially we learn that Brittany Mallard after Louise Mallard goes through all of these mixed emotions and she's really excited to be a widow. Actually her husband returns alive and she ends up dying. And of course there's an irony in the end because of course we know at the time doctors were men and these men diagnosed her of dying because she was just too happy to see her husband alive again. But of course we know as readers that actually she died because she realized that this freedom was actually out of reach for her once more. Now when her initially before we learn of course of this plot twist so her fancies described as running riot and again this personification shows Mrs Mallard's uncontrollable excitement of being a widow. Also the seasons are mentioned so the spring and summer and again this represents a new start for her and the repetition of days shows she's really savoring her independence as a widow. Also she breathes a quick prayer that life is long so this is really surprising because many see being a widow as the end of a wife's life but actually Mrs Mallard sees this as a start of her new life and of course this obviously emphasizes why she's so shocked at the end when she sees her husband. Also it's really interesting that this is contrasted with the previous day where she thought with the shadow that life might be long and of course the repetition life might be long shows how she hated being in marriage and she felt really trapped by being married. Also the verb here she arose describes her as if she's resurrecting she has a new lease on life and the pre-modifier feverish to describe her triumph shows that she feels like she's one in this race of life. Furthermore the simile it refers to the Greek goddess of victory who's also called Nike and again she feels really really triumphant. Furthermore she then opens a door meets her sister Josephine and they descend down the stairs and of course this represents her going back down to reality and again it foreshadows this eventual twist. Now there's this mention of someone again, again there's some mystery someone's opening the door and then it's her husband, Brent Lee Mallard and now this formal proper noun shows this emotional detachment and emotional distance that Mrs Mallard has from her husband and he's compositely carrying his items and the alliteration here shows his self assuredness he doesn't even realise what's going on. Now the complex sentence here which is also declarative shows a massive dramatic plus twist he's still alive he didn't even realise that his wife had gone through all of these motions and didn't realise that he was supposed to be dead. Now Josephine, Mrs Mallard's sister has a piercing crying this onomatopoeia shows her sister's shock and her sister's unhappiness at realising her husband is still alive. Now here the simple sentence which is also too late shows how this dramatic revelation is really shocking not only for Mrs Mallard but even for us. Now of course the heart disease that Mrs Mallard dies from is down to the disappointment that her freedom is gone and of course she's heart breaking but of course the doctors who are men come in and diagnose that she died because she was just too happy to see her husband but of course this is not the case. Also here we learn that even in death Mrs Mallard's narrative is controlled by somebody else they assume she was too overjoyed to see her husband again. 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