Feminism in A Story of an Hour

【Abstract】Kate Chopin is a famous feminist writer. A strong sense of feminine consciousness is embodied in her work. A Story of an Hour is a typical novel of her about the topic of feminism. This paper is going to analyze this story from the perspective of feminism.

【Key words】Feminism； A Story； an Hour

The story of an hour is about a woman who gained the “precious” freedom when informed the accidental death of her husband， but disappointed to die when she saw her husband alive. All these things happened within an hour.

At the beginning of the story，the author tells us that Mrs.Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble so her sister took great care to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.And we can learn from this description that Mrs. Mallard was in a trouble situation： troubled with heart disease， fragile，unable to bear any shock.Heart disease appears in the novel for many time.At the end of the story，the doctor said that she was died of heart disease—of joy that kills.We can see that the heart disease is an important clue of this story.When people told Mrs.Mallard that her husband died， all of them thought she must be sad and lose her hope of life. Nobody regarded the death of his husband as a freedom to her.They just guessed the reason according to the traditional moral principles and from the perspective of man.

The United States in the 19th century， legal， religious and traditional practices strict restrictions on women， especially Southern wome rights. They could not vote， cannot make their voices heard in the political sphere； most of the work refused to hire female staff， the majority of women can only perform household chores； proportion of educated women is far lower than that of men. At that time， women were regarded as an appendage of men. Everybody all ignored that woman is also an individual and also have the right to pursue freedom， happness and the life she wants. That actually is a kind of discrimination towards women rights. we can conclude from the text that Mrs. Mallard doesn't live a happy life with her husband and she even have no future toward life And no sense of individual. The death of her husband brings her hope and imagination. Of course she must be sorrow when she heard the news but just for a moment.The sadness is covered by the sense of freefom gradually.

An hour is a short period but to Mrs.Mallard it is a long and complicated time.During this time， Mrs.Mallard 's feeling changed from sad to hopeful to despaired and she finally died of heart disease.“When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath：‘free， free， free！ The vacant stare and look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pluses beat fast， and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.”the author wrote.That can be regarded as the awakening of Louise' s mind. She began to realize the sense of individual， the freedom of body and soul. She never wanted to live for other again.And that was a reflection of feminism. When hears the bad news， her reaction does not like the vast majority of women in society as “immediately collapsed， unable to accept the reality”， but immediately cried， then pour in the arms of her sister. Later， Louise insisted going back to her room. When Louise was faced with the natural world that is full of vitality， she initially filled with fear， and then infinite joy waiting for free time. But when faced with the unexpected return of her husband， Louise emotions once again into great sorrow.The sudden despair and losing of freedom for the second time was the main reason lead to her death. She gains her freedom and then loses it during the short hour.

Writing this novel， the author wants to emphasis the importance the value of freedom. In the author' s mind， freedom is more precious than living. Comparing living a life without freedom with death， the author chooses death. So from this perspective， the end of this story is not a tragedy. The death of Louise is just a period of the woman right movement. All the people are born equally.Both women and men have the right to pursue the life they want.

“The Story of an Hour” is one of the typical representatives of Kate Chopin about feminism. The theme of her novel mostly reflects the call for freedom and the pursuit of self. In the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century， that“deviant” thinking is far beyond the social. Even in the women's liberation movement has experienced 100 years later， we found that the female consciousness implied in Chopin's works are still coincides with the pulse of the times. No doubt， the interpretation of her works has an irreplaceable and practical significance.To achieve the goal of equality， we still have a long way to go.

作者简介：张雪薇（1994-），女，河北沧州人，河北大学外国语学院英语系，本科。