Story of an Hour Dear

Story Of an Hour

Dear Ms. Chopin,

Congratulations on your short story, "The Story of an Hour." After reading your narrative several times, I am happy to say that I found the story quite intriguing and was impressed by the fact that you managed to express so much about your character Louise Mallard in such a short amount of time. Your writing is economical and rife with sentiment and symbolism at the same time (e.g., the mention of springtime, a time of rebirth, and the patches of blue sky, the emergence of a new existence as well as many other metaphors sprinkled like rich seasoning throughout the narrative). Your story flows easily from paragraph to paragraph and keeps the reader engaged.

Louise Mallard is not at all how she initially appears to be at the beginning of the story. She is quite complex. She is, we think, a weak woman -- not weak of her own accord, but weak because society dictates her role as wife, housekeeper, and child bearer -- yet she is not weak. I think that some might look at Louise and see her realization of being free after hearing about her husband's death as something cruel and selfish; however, if that is the case, then they are missing the bigger meaning in your story. I found it particularly revealing that we do not learn of Louise's name until quite far into the story. Was this a comment on her individuality -- or lack of individuality more likely? That is open for debate; however, I like to think that she is representative of so many women of that era whose identity was dominated by the identity of their husbands.

Louise "had loved him [her husband] -- sometimes. Often she did not." It is clear that Louis's repression by society and her husband is what keeps her from her freedom and so how could she love that way of life? Society prizes freedom and Louise believes she has found freedom when she hears of her husband's death. One may wonder how a woman could marry a man if she did not love him, but it is clear that she is doing exactly what society -- not her heart -- tells her to do. With all the references in the story to Louise's heart condition, one can't help but see the metaphor of the weak heart as the repressive nature of marriage in those days.

Overall, I believe that your story is eloquently and elegantly told. The personification, imagery, and metaphors are all used wisely. The reader never feels like they are being bombarded with too much symbolism and drama, which is important for gathering meaning. The story is an important one about freedom and the importance of freedom for all -- not just women. Louise Mallard loves her husband because she has to, because society tells her that she must love her husband, but it is clearly not the route she would have take had she had her freedom.