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The Story of an Hour 25468 Views
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Description:
In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," Louise Mallard has a rather peculiar response to the news of her husband's death: instead of mourning for him, she's overcome with joy by her new freedom. If you think that's weird, wait until you see what happens at the end of the story.
Transcript
- 00:00
The Story of an Hour, a la Shmoop. Imagine this. . .
- 00:12
. . .you’re a repressed housewife. . .
- 00:15
. . .hit with the news that your hubby won’t be coming home for dinner. . .like, ever.
- 00:21
You hate to admit it. . .
- 00:22
. . .but you’re not quite as unhappy about it as you should be.
Full Transcript
- 00:25
And just when you’re counting the perks of being a
- 00:28
widow. . .
- 00:28
. . . who walks through the door?
- 00:30
That’s right – your slightly undead husband. Now, we can imagine anyone being shocked by
- 00:40
this turn of events. . .
- 00:41
. . .but our heroine Louise actually takes it one step further.
- 00:45
So, why did she die at the sight of her husband? Could it have been strictly a physiological
- 00:51
response? She did have a heart condition. . .
- 00:55
. . .so seeing a “ghost” might have been all it took to send her over the edge.
- 01:01
Or maybe she just couldn’t go back to her old
- 01:03
life. . .
- 01:04
. . .and checking out was her only option.
- 01:07
Seems a little extreme. . .
- 01:08
. . .but she did say she was looking forward to living for herself. . .
- 01:12
. . .and escaping the “powerful will bending hers”. . .
- 01:16
. . .so maybe the idea of returning to a submissive life. . .
- 01:19
. . .was something she just couldn’t handle. Was the author, Kate Chopin, trying to make
- 01:25
a point, killing off Louise. . .
- 01:26
. . .to say that death was actually preferable. . .
- 01:29
. . .to living a life as a powerless wife? Or maybe Louise’s guilt got the better of
- 01:34
her. . .
- 01:35
. . .and she died of shame. She just couldn’t face her husband after
- 01:38
her positive reaction to his “death”. So, why did Louise kick the bucket?
- 01:43
Did a bad heart let her down. . .
- 01:47
. . .was she unwilling to go back to her former life. . .
- 01:50
. . .or did guilt and shame do her in? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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