Mrs. Mallard and the Condition of 19th Century Women: A Character Analysis

This essay analyzes the character of Mrs. Mallard in Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour' and represents the condition of women in the 19th century. It discusses the limited freedom and social acceptance of women in the 19th century and how Mrs. Mallard's feelings of liberation and freedom after the alleged death of her husband represent the suffocation that women felt within the institution of marriage.

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English 102-B01
Date
Narrative Essay
Mrs. Mallard and the condition of the 19th century women
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” written in the year 1894 is often considered to be
one of the most iconic short stories of the 19th century. This short story is important because of
the fact that the story has within itself the germs of the concept of feminism which was to gain
prominence in the 20th century. The protagonist of the short story Mrs. Mallard is generally
regarded as one of the earliest portraits of modern women within the cannon of literature by
virtue of the unconventional feelings and emotions that she displays during the entire course of
the story. This essay will undertake a character analysis of Mrs. Mallard through a representation
of the condition of women in the 19th century.
In the 19th century the women enjoyed a very limited amount of freedom in the society
and as a matter of fact the social acceptance that they got was totally based on the social position
as well as the wealth of their husband or the male members of their family. Thus, it is natural that
the women had to display devotion as well as a great deal of respect towards the male members
of their family. However, the short story “The Story of an Hour” through the representation of
the actual feelings of a wife, namely, Mrs. Mallard, shows the actual feelings of the women of

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that age. In contradiction to the general opinion and views upheld by the society, Mrs. Mallard,
actually feels liberated and freed after the alleged death of her husband.
Chopin’s protagonist not only feels liberated from the torturous bond of marriage but at
the same time freed from the orthodox conventions of the society as well. In this regard, the
words of Mrs. Mallard wherein she says “free, free, free!” are important to note. Furthermore,
the story, at the same time, shows the sacrifices that the women of the 19th century within the
framework of marriage. In addition to the various household choirs, the wives were also required
to attend to the personal needs of their husbands and this used to leave them with very little time
or energy to attend to their own personal needs. This aspect of the lives of the women of the 19th
century and the suffocation that they felt within the institution of marriage is adequate
represented through the words of Mrs. Mallard which she says after the alleged death of her
husband “Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own”. However,
this sense of liberty as well as freedom that she feels is a very short lived and towards the end of
the story it is seen that the news of her husband being alive reaches to her. The shock of once
again leading the same pattern of life and enduring the feeling of bondage, which has dominated
her life and marriage, is too torturous or overburdening for her after she had tasted freedom and
liberty. This is one of the major reasons for her death since she prefers to die rather than return to
the same old pattern of life.
Mrs. Mallard, through her expression of the actual feelings, which almost all the women
of the 19th century felt but were too timid to express that even to themselves become an
important one from the perspective of the literary cannon of feminism. In this regard, it can be
regard said that she values her freedom as well as liberty way more than the societal norms and
conventions. This is perhaps one of the major reasons why she not only feels a sense of liberty

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but at the same time freedom as well after the alleged death of her husband. As a matter of fact,
she is not only happy because her husband has died rather she is happy because has ultimately
escaped from the bondage of marriage.
To conclude, the short story “The Story of an Hour” of Kate Chopin is an important one
of the 19th century because of the fact that it tries to give an honest portrait of the condition of the
women of the age. Furthermore, through the protagonist the story at the same time tries to show
the suffering as well as the suffocation that the women felt within the institution of marriage.
This is the reason for the feeling of liberty as well as freedom that Mrs. Mallard feels after the
alleged death of her husband and the loss of which ultimately cause her death at the end of the
story.

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