Literature Evokes Emotions and Links Feeling to Thinking

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Literature Evokes Emotions and Links Feeling to Thinking

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin captured my interest and imagination as it made me feel sorry for Mrs. Mallard. As I read the story, I could relate to her conflicting emotions. She did not know what to feel and how to express her emotions. At one moment, she was filled with sadness as she wept with wild abandonment thus showing the initial shock of receiving the bad news. At another moment, she was filled with hope and excitement, as she realized the freedom she would now have because her husband would not be there to impose his will upon her. She could not bear to show the happiness she was feeling at the thought of being free because the others expected her to be sorrowful after receiving the news of her husband’s death. She thought that she finally had her freedom only for it to be taken away before she could even enjoy it. She had hoped that this would end the suffering she had endured under her husband’s control. In a way, her wishes were granted because she did escape her suffering in death. People will often hide their true feelings or they will avoid showing their emotions because of other people’s expectations.

The setting that Mrs. Mallard saw in her room prepared her further for what was to be the beginning of her new life. She started experiencing scenes that previously seemed non-existent to her. She saw the comfortable roomy chair, signifying the comfort that she felt in her husband’s death. The window was open showing the open opportunities that her new life presented. She could now live life for herself as she experienced the summers and springs. She sank in the chair due to physical exhaustion and not due to the sorrow that she was feeling. The treetops showed the start of new spring life that corresponded well with the life that she was to lead. She could hear the sparrows twittering and she smelt the delicious breath of rain. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there. Mrs. Mallard knew that she would not experience the freedom that she was feeling all at once; it would come in “patches”. Mrs. Mallard and the Richards did not take the initiative of confirming Mr. Mallard’s death. This makes the story intriguing because everybody was shocked at the sudden reappearance of Mr. Mallard and this contributes to the sudden ending of the story.

The Story of an Hour is similar in context to Chopin’s novel The Awakening. Mrs. Mallard thinks of liberation from her husband and in The Awakening, Edna seeks freedom from her husband and the society. Chopin advocates for women’s freedom from societal ties that hold them down. She may have got this inspiration from the life of one of her great-grandmothers, who separated from her husband at a time when it was practically forbidden to do so (Wyatt, 1995). She grew up knowing that single women could also be independent and she presented this well in her stories. This belief in the strength of a woman makes the reader relate to the sudden hope and overwhelming joy that fills Mrs. Mallard when she realizes that her husband is dead. A reader is not only supposed to care about his or her own meaning of the work, but he or she should read beyond the words and try to empathize with the speaker or author of the work (Griffith, 2006). Unfortunately, both Mrs. Mallard and Edna only experience their freedom for a short while. The irony in both stories is that the women only realize their ultimate freedom in death.

A reader has to connect with the author so that she or he can get the meaning and write a clear analysis of the work. This involves imagining oneself in the situation of the main character and relating to the events that surrounds him or her. The author can also use the setting of the scene to pass across the clear and hidden meaning of the story. Another influence can be the historical or biographical life of the author. An author can find inspiration events from his or her life in the past those that happened at a particular time in history.

References

Griffith, K. (2006). Writing essays about literature: A guide and style sheet. New York, NY: Cengage Learning

Wyatt, N. (1995). Biography of Kate Chopin. Retrieved 9 February 2011, from http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/katebio.htm