Here goes everything lol
2004-10-17...11:47 a.m.


I reread the document on writing my critical essay, and thank goodness. Because I just found out it's due TODAY, not tomorrow, like I thought. This is how I submitted it, and here's hoping the essay doesn't suck balls:

Ironies of Loss in Kate Chopin�s The Story of an Hour

Sometimes, when we endure a loss, we gain something that we never knew we were missing. With a new perspective, whether it�s a change in location or emotion, we often learn something about ourselves. In The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin shows in vivid detail how a change in her point of view came over � and overcame � Louise Mallard. She experiences a complicated shift from married woman, with all of the burdens of that role, to widow. She gains, during her bereavement, a new sense of self and a new sense of freedom.

The first irony is that while Mrs. Mallard is being told of her husband�s passing in �broken sentences" and �veiled hits that revealed in half concealing� (2), we are told upfront and quite bluntly. Instead of a typical reaction � denial - we see her immediate and socially acceptable reaction as she passes through her �storm of grief,� (3), which might lead us to believe that she might have been �faking it.� Even as the clouds in her window are receding, so does her explosive passion.

When Mrs. Mallard�s empty stare settles on a patch of clear sky, it begins to dawn on her that she can make changes in her life. Before this moment, it had likely never occurred to her that such changes were possible. She felt she had been trapped within the confines of marriage, without ever having had the opportunity to discover her full potential. In Paragraph 11, she chants, �Free, free, free!� She doesn�t feel guilty about reveling in the idea of freedom just because it came at the price of her husband�s life. Instead, she looks beyond that burden towards the years she has ahead of her.

As a married person, I personally can understand this point of view. While I don�t wish I�d never gotten married, I often feel that my life would have been drastically different if I hadn�t. Perhaps I would have completed a degree and been well on my way to a successful career by now. Maybe I would have decided to serve in the military. Certainly I would have more options without having to take the desires and needs of a mate into consideration.

Finally, we are shown the ironies we glimpse at the beginning of the story. While Mr. Richards � Brently Mallard�s friend � took care to verify the news of Mr. Mallard�s death via telegram, still he came home alive, and actually oblivious to the news of the railroad accident in which he had reportedly perished. Also, so much care was given to protect Mrs. Mallard, with her delicate heart condition, from the shock of losing her husband, yet her friends and family were unsuccessful in protecting her from the shocking news of his survival.

Louise Mallard seems to live a lifetime in her chair by the window. She contemplates the loss of someone she felt had suppressed her by not allowing her to achieve anything beyond the boundaries of her marriage. She endures several losses during her hour � some bad, some good. Regardless of discovering that the news of her husband�s demise being false, she did suffer losing him. During her period of introspection while gazing at the brighter, cloudless portions of sky, she loses the shackles of oppression and sees how much life she has ahead of her. Finally, her husband returns quite the opposite of dead, and along with her newfound freedom, she loses her life.


the last trail...the next path

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