The Awakening of the Female

池蘊珊

Kate Chopin is a famous American female writer of the 19th century. She is considered as the pioneer of realistic writer by modern critics. Her works are famous for women pursuing mental freedom and independence. The characters in her works are very lifelike, and their psychological description is delicate. The Story of an hour, published in 1894, is a boutique in Chopins short stories. It mainly described Mrs.Mallards behaviors and psychological changes after she heard her husband die.

In this novel, Mrs.Mallard, suffering from a heart condition, learned that Brently Mallard had died in a train accident, according to a report received at a newspaper office. Mrs. Mallard broke down and went upstairs to a room to be alone. Slowly, she began to realize her soul was changing. She was free. She was now an independent woman — at liberty to do as she pleased. But when Louise was preparing herself for the future, she found Brently Mallard was still alive. Louise died of heart disease — of joy that kills.

In the late nineteenth century, women were restricted seriously by the society, especially in Southern America. Mrs.Mallard, the heroine of this novel, typically represented the women images at that time. They could not vote, could not make their voices heard politically, and they had to stay at home to do housework. In the meantime, they should obey their husbands and dress beautifully every day to delight their husbands. According to Southern tradition, women were the incarnation of virtue. They were asked to be full of compassion, tolerance, patience, loyalty and obedience. In this background, it was actually difficult for women to realize their value and get rid of the bondage.

Mrs.Mallard had lived by the strict moral code before she heard the news of tragedy. But when she learned that Mr.Mallard had died, she felt that “there was something coming to her and she was waiting for it” and “she would live for herself.” Before she heard the news of tragedy, she had been forced to live for others who had the right to impose their private wills upon her. And their private wills made her feel repressed. So when she took in the news, she felt “her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” She was looking forward to her own future life. But Mrs.Mallard could not achieved her wonderful dream because of her husband suddenly appearing. She could not tolerate the fact that she had to return her former life, which made her fall from the heaven to hell. She died of heart disease, because only in this way could she be relieved of the bondage.

Not only is Mrs.Mallards consciousness awakening from her behaviors and psychological changes, but also from her name changing. Not until Paragraph 16 do we learn the heroines first name, Louise. Kate Chopin did so to suggest that the young woman lacked individuality and identity until her husbands reported death liberated her. Before that time, she was merely Mrs.Mallard, an appendage grafted onto her husbands identity. While undergoing her personal renaissance alone in her room, she regained her own identity. It was at this time that her sister, Josephine, called out, “Louise, open the door!”

The theme of The Story of an Hour reflects the pursuit of freedom and the awakening of the female. Kate Chopin described the process of the female renaissance vividly. In the last hour of her life, Louise achieved the freedom which she was longing for. And she liberated herself from the bondage of marriage and society. This is a self-actualization of heroine in this novel. Kate Chopin profoundly exposed the cruelty of traditional system and the bondage of female among the 19th century by designing the elaborate plots. Although an hour is very short,the significance of this novel is profound and lasting. The women's liberation movement has experienced almost 100 years, and the female consciousness implied in Chopin's works still coincides with the development of society.