The Story of an Hour
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| "The Story of an Hour" | |
| Author | Kate Chopin |
|---|---|
| Original title | "The Dream of an Hour" |
| Translator | None |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Literary Fiction |
| Published in | United States |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publisher | Vogue |
| Publication date | 1894 |
| Published in English | 1894 |
"The Story of an Hour" (1894) is a widely anthologized short story by American writer Kate Chopin. Critic Daniel Deneau says it is "Surely [her] best-known piece of short fiction." [1] It was originally published in the December 6, 1894 issue of Vogue magazine under its original title, "The Dream of an Hour". [2] [3] It describes a woman's reaction to the news of her husband's sudden death and to the subsequent news that he is, in fact, alive. The body of the text has 20 paragraphs, 1009 words, and 4531 characters. The story exemplifies Chopin's beliefs regarding women's roles in marriage and feminine identity.
[edit] Characters
- Louise Mallard, the protagonist
- Brently Mallard, her husband
- Josephine, Mrs. Mallard's sister
- Richards, Mr. Mallard's friend
[edit] Criticism
In "The Teeth of Desire: The Awakening and The Descent of Man," critic Bert Bender summarizes the theme of the story:
In "The Story of an Hour," on the other hand, Mrs. Mallard feels the ecstasy of being liberated from what seems an agreeable marriage after the apparent accidental death of her husband. But then she comes to question the meaning of love. (463) [4]
[edit] References
- ^ Deneau, Daniel P. "Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour.'" The Explicator 61.4 (Summer 2003): 210-14.
- ^ The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin, characters, setting
- ^ Golden, Catherine. Charlotte Perkins Gillman's The Yellow Wall-Paper: A Sourcebook and Critical Edition. Routledge, 2004. 37. ISBN: 0415263581
- ^ Bender, Bert. "The Teeth of Desire: The Awakening and the Descent of Man." American Literature 63.3 (Sep., 1991): 459-473.
