Exercises 1) Finalize the story figure out what happen 2) Describe the literary element 3) Summarize based on own

understanding

Answers

1) The climax of "The Story of an Hour"is when Mrs. Mallard begins to feel joyful over her

renewed life. Since her husband is no longer alive, she can be set free and start over, which is symbolized by the spring time. This is the climax, because it leads to what happens to her, which is death.

2) Life and death

"The Story of an Hour," "The Locket," and "Ma'ame Plagie" are three of Chopin's short stories that deal particularly with the thin border between life and death, although several other stories also have the specter of death in the background of the narrative. In Chopin's writings, the physical livelihood of the protagonists is heavily influenced by their mental and emotional livelihood. Consequently, in "The Story of an Hour," Louise Mallard temporarily gains bodily strength as a result of her joy but dies in the shock of the end of her exuberance, and in "Ma'ame Plagie," the title character gives up her past and in the process succumbs to old age. On the other hand, in "The Locket," those who are dead can also return to life, and while the presumed death of Edmond nearly kills Octavie's spirit, his return brings both of them back to youth. Gender and identity In many of her short stories, Chopin seeks to elucidate the previously marginalized point of view of the female, who belonged to what could be called an inferior class according to the laws and norms of the late nineteenth century. Although the female protagonists do not themselves consciously understand the role of the gendered power relations in their society, the heroine finds in a number of cases that she has very little power except through the proxy of her husband. For this reason, Louise Mallard feels a sense of exultation when she learns that her husband has died, and she reasons that the end of the obligations of marriage will free her to follow her own desires. In addition, in "Dsire's Baby," Dsire is forced into suicide not only because she cannot bear the lack of her husband Armand Aubigny's love, but also because she has no power to overrule his prejudices and ability to ruin her life.

Independence and autonomy Many of the inner conflicts faced by Chopin's heroines are essentially issues of autonomy, in which the protagonist attempts to gain or regain an aspect of control in her life. Most notably, in "The Story of an Hour," Louise Mallard recognizes that the death of her husband and the subsequent breaking of the marriage tie will leave her an independent woman who is beholden to no one in her actions, and "Beyond the Bayou" ends with the main character La Folle realizing that the end of her fear of the world outside of the bayou's boundaries has given her a world of new possibilities. Nevertheless, Chopin sometimes shows that these moments of freedom can be

extremely tenuous or temporary, as Mrs. Mallard discovers when her husband returns home uninjured, and as Mrs. Sommers finds when she is forced to return to her life of enforced frugality after a day of indulging her desires in "A Pair of Silk Stockings."

Quotes

"Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death." "When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her." "There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air." "She said it over and over under her breath: 'free, free, free!' The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body." "she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome." "There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature." "And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not." "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." "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of joy that kills."

3) Upon hearing the news of Brently Mallard's tragic railroad accident death in the newspaper office, his friend Richards rushes to the Mallards' house, where he and Mrs. Mallard's sister Josephine gently inform the weak-hearted Mrs. Mallard of Brently's death. In response, Louise Mallard weeps openly before going to sit alone in her room. Exhausted, Mrs. Mallard sits motionless in her armchair by the window and looks at all the beauty of the outside world, occasionally sobbing. She is young, with a calm and strong face, but she stares dully into the sky while she waits nervously for a revelation. Finally, she realizes despite her initial opposition that she is now free. Terror leaves her eyes while her pulse beats faster. Mrs. Mallard knows that she will mourn her loving husband's death, but she also predicts many years of freedom, which she welcomes. She begins planning her future, in which she will live without the burden of other people. She loved her husband, more or less, but love is nothing to her when compared to independence, she decides, as she murmurs, "Free! Body and soul free!" Josephine asks Mrs. Mallard to let her enter because she is afraid that the grieving widow will make herself ill, but Mrs. Mallard is actually imagining the happiness of the years ahead. In fact, only the day before she had feared living a long life. Triumphantly, she answers the door and goes downstairs with her arm around Josephine's waist, where Richards awaits. At this moment, Brently Mallard comes in the front door, having been nowhere near the train disaster. Richards moves in front of him to hide him from seeing his wife when she cries out. By the time the doctors arrive, she has died from "heart disease," purportedly from "the joy that kills."