The story of an hour
This essay will explore how Kate Chopin uses characterisation, narrative point of view and setting in her story "the story of an hour” to portray Mrs Millard’s internal conflict and develop the story bringing across a certain message about the convictions of society imposed on women during the time the story was written.
Characterisation is the process of developing a character. In literature we have a dynamic and static character a dynamic one is usually the one who develops because he or she changes. It is safe to argue that Mrs Millard is a dynamic protagonist who has a conflict within herself and even her fate. This is illustrated through the event of her husbands supposed death and how she reacts towards it. When the writer explains that she has heart trouble the reader is able to predict that she will moan the husbands passing. However the reader is made were of her internal conflict through her development. The text first describes her as fail with lines that bespoke repression. The lines on her fair face tell us that she is young but with wrinkles and wrinkles on a young person mean that she is troubled and these things she pounders upon have probably led to the first outbreak hence there is knowledge of her heart problem. Chopin then develops the protagonist by fader explaining that she had certain strength. This is seen when after she reacts as society would expect her to by crying when she is told of her husband’s passing she then locks herself up in a room and starts to look at her possibilities. If one were to study the context of the story it is written in a time when women were so dependent on men. the expected reaction would be to ponder on thoughts about an inability to cope without the husband but Mrs Millard does not confirm to the norms of society she develops into a strong resilient character though her internal conflict. One would argue that the conflict is between her and society however the conflict is between her and the ways of society. she does not publicly fight back the convictions she abides by them hence she marries and her sister knows nothing of the conflict because it is something she keep to herself and also because she is also far convicted in the ways that life should be that she does not since that her sister may want something different from life. At this stage she is still a static character she is the same until she gives rein to the concept of freedom. Here the reader learns that she did not love the husband as well as she should and that she is relived by his death. The point in which she acts different from what is expected shows an element of change of conflict which is eternal. She is a duelled character whose different sides are at conflict she has to abide but she does not want to. When she does finally give in to change she develops which is the key element of characterisation
Narrative point of view is all about who is telling the story. In the story of an hour we have a limited third person point of view as the narrator only has excess to Mrs Mallard’s thoughts and emotions. this narrator is close to the character to an extent that it gives the text a first person narrative as if it were telling the story from Mrs mallards eye view this is shown in the constant way the narrator defends the way she thinks "she had loved him often she had not then the narrator goes on to say what did it matter anyway. First person narrative is always trying to make justifications for its actions this is why we are given the illusion that this story is told from Mrs Mallards eye view. This is essential to illustrate the conflict she has with herself. the reader needs to have access to Mrs mallards thoughts and emotions to can understand that she does not wish to confirm to the norms of society that she does not react differently to her husband’s death because of spite but because she longs for something outside of what she is living. It is like wanting to live a city life when the city is not yet in existence. Luise wanted to live the twenty first life during a time when such a lifestyle was unknown. It justifies the toll this had on her heart and the fact that her sister does not know of her conflict. Most third person narrators are all knowing. In this story the narrator knows that this is the wrong way to think, that Mrs Millard’s does not confirm to the norms of society and that everyone thinks she died of joy that kills. this irony is the to emphasise a point that the conflict was unknown because it would be close to abnormal to think like that hence the narrator tells the story in a way that tell us that the sister is unaware of what is going on. The writer use a third person narrator because it gives her the chance to step back and give both point views in the story unhampered. These points of view which are the views of society that a women should be dependent on a man depicted through Josephine and Richards and their reaction through trying to break the news to her in a delicate manner showing that they think that losing a husband is too tragic more especially for a woman like her. Then we are showed the other side through the protagonist’s thoughts and emotions which are given more credibility because they are told from a third person narrator. it could be that the Copan’s is trying to convict the audience the story is original written for that women should not be treated like the property of men and that they also do have thoughts of their own and do not all which to live for marriage. It could be that she uses a third person narrator and kills the character so as to not publicly create the impression that she is fighting the norms of society which is intelligent considering what happened during the apartheid era. All those who publicly declared their rebellion to the ways of society paid a heavy penalty. She probably opted for a third person narrative to make it seem like she was talking about somebody else’s thoughts while she was bringing into surface her own thoughts and emotions.
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