This essay aims to explain the cultural and social contexts behind “The Story of an Hour,” written in the mid-nineteenth century by Kate Chopin. Short stories, though not always descriptive, can give much information to analyze and think over. It is important to understand the time the author wrote the stories in question. The time and place reflect the key motifs and some unexpected inquiries into what the writer was trying to convey to the reader. An explanation is needed for the main character’s feelings – Josephine Mallard and her great joy over the supposed passing of her husband. She repeats: “Free!” and is overwhelmed with great pleasure, which is quite unusual for a grieving widow. She is ecstatic with triumph, her weak body fails her, and she dies of heart disease. The purpose of this essay is to explain the reason for Mrs. Mallard’s extreme delight over such horrifying circumstances.
The story starts with the description of Mrs. Mallard finding out about her husband’s alleged passing. His sudden death was a train accident, and she cried tears of shock. However, as soon as she returned to her room and was alone, she felt her heartbeat quicken and her mind racing. “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” (Chopin 354). Such a reaction is abnormal for a woman who had just learned of a tragedy. Then it is explained that she feels intense pleasure over the prospect of being alone for years to come. It is evident that she never loved her husband and that marriage made her feel trapped. The end of her husband’s life meant the start of hers; therefore, she was overcome with joy.
The reader may ask how Mrs. Mallard ended up in these circumstances. Toady people have a wildly different outlook on marriage than they did in the nineteenth century. That change is a natural outcome of women’s liberation and society shifting its views on womanhood. Back then, a woman’s only purpose in life was to become a submissive wife and kind mother to her children. Welter writes:
The attributes of True Womanhood, by which a woman judged herself and was judged by her husband, her neighbors, and society, could be divided into four cardinal virtues – piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity (132).
A woman’s place was beside her husband, but never by herself. Her identity depended on her status in society, to which she could only contribute by being a wife and mother. It is not difficult to imagine that many women were pressured into a marriage to men with whom they were not truly happy. “And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not” (Chopin 354). Josephine was emotionally free from her misfortunate marriage via her husband’s alleged death, and that freedom made her feel truly happy.
In nineteenth-century America, women’s status in society was incredibly low. “Whenever a woman married, her legal identity essentially disappeared” (Baird 1). From the moment she is wed, a woman is legally recognized only in the context of her marriage, which her husband led. Furthermore, she could not make any purchases or own property. “Any property she brought into the marriage, or which she inherited during the marriage, were immediately vested in the married couple and therefore became her husband’s for all practical purposes” (Baird 2). Therefore, the woman could only use the household’s funds if her husband permits it. This severely impacted women’s ability to own land, livestock, money, or any power in a capitalist society. It also made them extremely dependent on their spouse, which caused a sense of powerlessness in the relationship. Widows, however, could make financial decisions for themselves and their families, such as making a will, buying or selling property, and more (Baird 3). They had financial sovereignty and control over their lives; they were essentially free. Such were the circumstances for the main character Josephine, and her sudden liberation from this dependency contributed to her happiness.
Lastly, Josephine was joyous because before, she could not use her right to divorce. Nowadays, separation of legally bound couples is common, but that was not the case for people in the nineteenth century. Divorce was not an option during that time, and the only means of ending one’s marriage was to pass a private bill, and its granting was rare if not impossible (Baird 3). Women like Josephine were truly trapped in their partnership with no way to escape. Even if a bill granting a divorce were to be passed, a woman would be left stranded. Since her finances were owned and managed by her husband, her inheritance was assigned to him, and she had no property to sell or earn money from, she was destined for a life of poverty. She could only stay in an unhappy, controlling, or abusive marriage rather than ask for a divorce and be left with nothing. When she thought her husband had died, Josephine had felt that fate had relieved her of a future with someone she did not love and the potential prospect of a crippling divorce.
In conclusion, Josephine Mallard was ecstatic after hearing the false news of her late husband for many reasons. First of all, the societal expectation for women to get married and have children led to her being in an unhappy marriage with a man she did not love. Furthermore, the restrictive nature of marriages at the time left her with no financial independence. Lastly, the nonexistent prospect of divorce was what made her feel trapped. When those pressures were lifted from her, she could finally feel free.
Works Cited
Baird, R. W. “Womens Rights: Women, Wives, and Widows.” Bob’s Genealogy Filing Cabinet: Southern and Colonial Genealogies. 2008.
Chopin, K. The Story of an Hour. McDougal Little. 2016.
Welter, B. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820 – 1860.” American Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 2, part 1, 1966, pp. 151-174.