...Kate Chopin's short story, "The Storm," is a story about the true meaning of happiness that transpires during a raging thunderstorm. Some of the ideas and themes tackled in this four-page short include adultery, happiness, the nature of secrets, and temptation. One of the main character's decisions revolves around infidelity, and can be considered a truly reprehensible act. Although some cultures look at it differently, the action is, on the whole, looked down upon. In Kate Chopin's "The Storm," through the story's showcasing of literary skill and dynamic themes, a question can be posed to the story's events: are the gender politics on display enough to justify Calixta's reprehensible actions? Firstly, in order to answer this question, we...
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...FREEDOM OF A WOMAN Susana Saldana Eng 125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Lora Carmichael 04/15/2013 In the Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin (1984) Kate describes Mrs. Millard as being afflicted by heart problems. She is young and has “a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression.” It seems as Mrs. Millard is not happily married to Brently Millard. When she hears the news of his accidental death she has mixed feelings. At first she wept from the awful news her sister Josephine purveyed upon her but then stops and only sobs. She seems to have joyous moments after the death of her husband because of the freedom she will unveil. She will no longer be to the beck and call of her husband as it seems she is. Mrs. Millard feels she will now be free, free, free. Mrs. Millard realized she will now only rely on herself and not anyone else; she could finally do as she pleases. After Mrs. Millard realized this she begins to see her possibly new reality. “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.” Implying that she is now to undergo a new beginning. She seems happy and relieved she could start alone. Chopin’s theme for this story was Freedom of a woman from a marriage. This...
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...the literary elements helps you to focus more on developing it meaning. Research states that the theme is a broad idea, message, or moral of a story. It even goes to say that it is the central message of a literary work. But mainly to me whenever I want to identify the theme in a story I think of it as the main idea, or ask myself what the author is saying in the story. As I read the text the author “explain”? the theme as been define as “A story that representation the idea behind the story” (Clugston, R. W. 2010). As you continue to read the information that the author provides you with you learn that the theme also goes beyond the plot, by telling you what the story is about (Clugston, R. W. 2010). Truly, I think when the author Kate Chopin wrote this story, “The Story of An Hour” she was thinking about a friend, a love one,...
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...Introduction: The Story of an hour is a short story written by Kate Chopin whose feminist ideas rocked the world in the early in the mid 1800’s where women’s lib movements were in their infancy. The lack of control over their lives make female emancipation a distant dream and it was due to the death of a loved one that much cherished independence of self could be attained. Kate Chopin lived life on her own terms and in her works allowed her support of women’s independence and sexual freedom to shine through which was shocking to the society still warped in long skirts and layers of petticoats. She focused her attention on love, sex, marriage, women, and independence and raged against the unjust world which viewed women as a lawful property. Her assertion that self matters above all love comes through brilliantly and the protagonists cry for freedom triumphs over her love for her husband.(Chopin) Plot overview: The story describes the one hour in the protagonists life where in she experiences heart wrenching grief, ecstasy of freedom and death. Louise Mallard is a typical housewife who is beset with the familiar problems awaiting the arrival of her husband. Her sister, Josephine at the beginning of the story breaks the story of her husband’s fatal accident gently and Louise cries in her arms with wild abandonment. The reader is introduced to the mysterious heart trouble which Mrs Mallard suffers from and this ailment keeps its date with Mallard’s destiny till the very end. After...
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...gives Alcée and Calixta shelter during that storm and allows them to be together. The storm almost seems to have more of a presence than the house. One thing that stands out here, of course, is the fact that the storm is taking place during the important sexualized scene, keeping Alcée and Calixta within the house, and Bobinôt and Bibi outside of it. When the storm dissipates, Alcée and Calixta must go their separate ways, seemingly much richer for their encounter. When Bobinôt reenters his own home, he has no idea of the torrid encounter that just happened there. Clarisse, too, is removed from the main area of action – she's in another state. On a larger scale, the setting reminds us of the characters' places in the world. As the Kate Chopin International Society's site points out, there are some subtle class differences between the four main characters represented in "The Storm": Alcée and his wife Clarisse are Creoles, descendants of French settlers in Louisiana. Calixta and her husband Bobinôt are...
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...about her husband death involving a train accident. Richards, a close friend of Mr. Mallard, knows that Louise does have heart trouble. So when relaying the information, they “ break to her as gently as possible the news of her husbands death (Kate Chopin IP1).” Going to her room, Louise locks herself in. Now standing there she’s finds a “roomy armchair” facing an open window. The sadness she’s feeling is gradually turning into joy. Kate Chopin “The Story of an Hour” Louise Mallard experiences rare emotions when grieving, which leads to her ironical death. To begin Mrs. Louise Mallard suffers from a heart condition and when asked to believe the story of her husband’s departure, “she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept significants (Kate Chopin IP3)." Her response was one-off; Mrs. Mallard sobs once and then locking herself in her room. Once sitting in her room she lets her mind run crazy, thinking of what she will do without Mr. Mallard? Could she ever do anything without him? However "There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it fearfully..creeping out of the sky, reaching Puhlmann 2 towards her through sounds, scents, and colors that filled the air(Kate Chopin IP9)." Louise originally shattered, but thinking she begins to like what her future might be like without Mr. Mallard. In this time period society thinks that women cannot do as much as men. At this time her mind is running a hundred miles an...
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...Corey Campbell June 29, 2009 English 098 Kate Chopin Essay Catherine O’ Flaherty was born February 8, 1851 (tombstone date). She would later marry Oscar Chopin and become Kate Chopin, critically acclaimed and condemned author of two novels (At Fault and The Awakening) and many short stories. She was a beautiful, intelligent woman who was able to tell powerful stories about the lives of people in the nineteenth century. Chopin’s insight writing revealed the hidden emotions, trials, and tribulations of the nineteenth century women. In the story of an hour, Chopin tells the story of Mrs. Mallard and the extraordinary changes including shock, acceptance and joy she endures during this hour in her home. Mrs. Mallard’s feelings are changed by the news of her husband’s death, the reality of living her life alone and the revelation that her husband was still alive. The glimpse into Mrs. Mallards private thoughts revealed a women momentarily saddened by the loss of her husband. “Go away. I am not making myself ill. No she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. Her fancy was running riot along those days 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”. Chopin reveals with these words that this woman is actually relived to be a widow and excited about experiencing life without the stress and...
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...Kate Chopin In the late 1800’s marriage was known to be a male-dominated union. Women submitted to their men in all aspects of life, never speaking of the unhappiness that soon followed their marriages. Today society rarely speaks of discontent in the household, so writers express silent feelings through stories. Authors incorporate personal factuality or experience into the literary piece. In “The Storm”, author Kate Chopin, through character Calixta, relates marital problems, unsettled desires, companion necessities, and destiny to subdue persistent memories. Most evidently, Kate Chopin uses marital distress between Calixta and Bibinot to reflect on discreet complications throughout her own marriage. Critical author, Emily Toth states “Evidently no one described any marital discord in the Chopin household, but, then, Southerners rarely reveal secrets of the human heart to outsiders”(163). Like Calixta, obstacles were never noticeable, instead, shielded by temporary bliss. After Alcee offered Calixta a “sensual gift,” Bobinot offers her an equal gift but on that represents his different personality, “I brought you some shrimps, Calixta…Shrimps! Oh, Bobinot! You too good fo’ anything!...we’ll have feas’ to night!”(99). Here the audience understands voluntary submission. Though Bobinot “treated” her to intimate gifts rather than sexually stimulating ones, Calixta was perfectly content with Bobinots loving and devoted meaner. One apparent connection between Chopin and...
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...AWAKENING Edna Pontillier is the main character in the novel The Awakening which was written by Kate Chopin. She is a character that readers can both identify and sympathize with at times, and yet her actions and traits might make readers to see her as an unsympathetic character at other times, and even in my case, find her to be extremely selfish and unlikeable. Readers may sympathize with her because after all she lived in a time where women were regarded as nothing but mere objects and did not have the rights that women do nowadays. However, she can also be viewed as a selfish woman and a bad mother because she decides to fall in love with another man even though she is married, and because she decides to neglect her children. As I first started reading this novel, I found it quite easy to sympathize with Edna. Chopin starts off the novel with introducing Edna and explains that she is "married to a wealthy and attentive husband, the mother of two healthy children” and “from all appearances [she] has everything to make a woman happy.” Soon after reading more of this novel I realized that statement could not be any further from the truth. In fact, I realized that not only is Edna not happy, instead she is truly miserable. She happens to be married to someone who looks at her the same way that he would regard “a valuable piece of personal property.” She is not attracted to him and is stuck at home doing chores because that is what society expected of a woman back then. I could...
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...In Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening, Edna's two different houses symbolize her life greatly. Her first house, the mansion that she shared with her husband, symbolized her life before awakened and realized the kind of life she living. Her second house, the pigeon house that she lived alone in, shows her life after she awakens and realizes what’s going on with her life and that she was not happy before. As the novel starts out Edna is a housewife to her husband Mr. Pontellier, and is not really unhappy but knows something is missing. Her husband does not treat her well. She is nothing but a piece of property to him, he has no true feelings for her and wants her for the sole purpose of withholding his reputation as a man. Edna has no clue that she is being treated so bad in the beginning of this story. With Mr. Pontellier being gone from home she finds plenty of time to spend with Robert over the summer. During the whole summer she does not realize the feelings she is developing for Robert and only sees him as a friend(friendzone). She likes spending all of her time with him and gets along with him much better than her husband. It is not until she is back home and Robert leaves that she starts to "awaken" and realize her feelings not just for Robert but also for life. At first Edna misses Robert greatly and wonders why he never writes her. She does get to read letters in which Robert has sent others though. She is glad that he asks about her in his letters yet still upset because...
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...At the hand of Eunice Hunton Carter the struggle with America accepting diversification can easily be depicted within her narrative, The Corner. From start to finish the reader becomes captivated by a young woman from Harlem, New York, who finds that she is trying to break down the thoughts of what she calls “alien” America, as well as wonder why they cannot appreciate the beauty of things that are not materialistic, along with the diversification of the world they are living within. The struggle is seemingly played through several scenes that ultimately tie into one unified thought at the end of the narrative. Throughout the narrative it is easy to distinguish that the author is trying to convey the message that Harlem is simply not appreciated for its lofty diversification. As a reader, you may begin to notice as well that the narrator is indicating early on the sole diversity that will be discussed in more detail at a latter time within the narrative. Clearly though the narrator eases into the topic of diversification with the description of the house. The basis of the narrative begins with the narrator describing the house as being a quaint wonder for the eye, “… a doll’s house of white enamel and soft blues…” Perhaps giving a description of a house that maybe would have been seen in a white neighborhood and not a “black city”. Yet in contrast the narrator also describes the visions of oriental rugs and chrysanthemums, both which have origins outside of America, that are...
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...Edna’s “awakening” begins to take form inside of her as a light. Chopin describes this evolution in this way because it depicts Edna as an individual who decides for herself, which we, the audience, observe as she makes the decision to go onto the beach with someone else. The character is unsure about this new personality growing inside of her that allows her to have her own opinions. Chopin then goes on to narrate from a 3rd person point of view about how most people do not make their way through this experience, suggesting the idea that Edna is a potential symbol for female empowerment/courage in the text. This passage is more of a big technique used by Chopin as the author alternates between using Edna’s husbands m=name and her simplistic...
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...American author Kate Chopin is often referred to as a mainstay of feminist literary study. This story is the documentation of the abstract reaction Louise Mallard had upon learning of her husbands, Brently Mallard, death. After the initial waves of grief have passed, to the surprise of many readers, including Mrs. Mallard herself, Mrs. Mallard feels a sense of relief, joy and freedom. It is through this reaction that readers are able to infer that Chopin is making the argument that individuals discover their self-identity only after being freed from confinement, and how freedom or lack of affects mental and emotional states. After Mr. Mallards death is revealed to Mrs. Mallard, Mallards self-identity is revealed to herself. Chopin does this to portray that people who have...
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...Morally ambiguous characters are in most works of literature. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, is no exception. Edna is an exceptional example of this, because her actions negatively affects other characters in the awakening. Although her actions are negative in nature, her thoughts and feelings aren’t. In the awakening the narrator truly centers the stage around Edna. Focusing the 3rd person omniscient narration on Edna allows for the reader to delve into her mind, her thoughts and feeling, which enables the readers to fully understand that, Edna, has no malicious intent, rather she wants to be free from society, regardless of her actions. The narrator allows the reader to see that Edna isn’t necessarily a bad person, for example; she still cares about her family. Edna is a morally ambiguous character because of the action she takes, she’s not evil, just unhappy. The actions she commits throughout the book define her character as such. Whilst reading, the observer understands that Edna leaves her family because she goes through a spiritual awakening. She believes that she is not suited to be a mother or for that matter a wife. Edna falls in love with a young man and has an affair with him behind her husband’s back. Although these actions are certainly negative, it’s shown that she still...
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...When one is struck with passion towards an idea, he may be viewed positively as strong or looked down upon as impulsive. In Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is firmly rooted in her perusal of independence, and acts upon this belief while seeking freedom financially, from her responsibilities as a housewife, and from supporting other losses of autonomy, although this dedication proves tragic, leading to her own death. Edna refuses to attend her sister’s wedding, demonstrating her disapproval of marriage stripping women of their independence. Despite having to argue her point against her father, Edna does not compromise on her principles. Although it is pivotal she communicates and stands up for her belief against the men in her life...
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