“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

APK: Do you think it is important to live for yourself? For example, is it important to follow your own dreams or is it acceptable to give them up in order to adhere to society’s beliefs and expectations of you?

Irony - The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. There are 3 kinds of irony – verbal, dramatic, and situational.

Dramatic Irony (When the audience knows something the characters don’t) – Have you ever seen a horror movie that has a killer on the loose? You, and the rest of the audience, know that the teenagers should not go walking in the woods late at night, but they think a midnight stroll would be romantic. Needless to say, the teens become the next victims.

Situational Irony (Irony due to location) – You break a date with your girlfriend so you can go to the ball game with the guys. When you go to the concession stand, you run into your date who is with another guy. You stay up all night studying for a test. When you go to class, you discover the test is not until the next day.

Verbal Irony (Sarcasm) – You are arguing with your mother, who reprimands you for being "smart." Your reply is a sarcastic, "If you think I am so smart, then why won't you let me make some smart decisions?“ Your boyfriend shows up in ripped up jeans and a stained t-shirt. With a smirk, you say, "Oh! I see you dressed up for our date. We must be going to a fancy restaurant."

"The Story of an Hour" was first published in 1894, an era in which many social and cultural questions occupied Americans' minds. One of these, referred to as the "Woman Question," involved which roles were acceptable for women to assume in society. Kate Chopin, the author drew upon the experiences of her own life in the southern United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century when writing her stories. As a result, many of them feature issues of class, race, and gender as they were interpreted by her society.

Since Kate Chopin so frequently examines issues of freedom, she often depicts characters who find themselves at odds with their societal norms. For this reason, her stories and novels shocked many of her nineteenth-century readers. "The Story of an Hour," which was first published in 1894 in Vogue magazine, is one of Chopin's briefest and most widely read stories.

Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is the story of one hour in the life of Mrs. Louise Mallard, a young woman who has "heart trouble." Her sister Josephine and her husband's friend Richards have come to her after hearing of a railroad disaster that has resulted in the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard.

As we read the story, examine how Louise Mallard's response to the news that her husband has been killed exemplifies Chopin's beliefs regarding women's roles in marriage and feminine identity. Why do you think her readers may have been shocked by this piece?