The reflection of The Story of an Hour
ENGLISH 125: Introduction to literature
Instructor: Robert Solomon
Diana Walker
January 21, 2013

A women’s quest for freedom The Story of an Hour is a short story written in 1894 by Kate Chopin. Kate Chopin was a women writing in a time where women were not considered equal to men. Mrs. Chopin wrote the story of an hour with a powerful message behind it. This short story was about a woman who was unhappy in her marriage. The theme of this story is freedom. When Mrs. Mallard was told her husband had perish in a train wreck it seemed as though she was stricken with grief, but as the story goes on she shows great relief that he is gone. He’s death meant that she could start anew and have a life of freedom. This story was full of symbolism. After reading the text I found many word in this piece that symbolized the theme. The author use words like sun (life source), rain (blessing or sadness), spring (new beginnings), blue (peacefulness), and rose (beauty –love). “She could see in the open square the tops of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air “. (clugston R.W. (2010) Journey to Literature). At first I wasn’t able to see the symbolism in the story, but after a second read a more research in the text on what symbolism is I was able to see it. Setting and symbolisms in the story of an hour make the theme. The story was written in 1894 which is not reflected in the story as for as written word, but the era that Mrs. Chopin wrote this piece was a time when women was not treated equal to men. Some might even call it a master/slave relationship. As for the symbolisms in the story, it makes the theme more alive. It makes the readers fell Mrs. Mallard’s pain and happiness. At the end of the story when Mr. Mallard walks to the door and Mrs. Mallard ends up dropping