Story of an Hour- Psychological

Story Of an Hour- Psychological Analysis

Psychological analysis of a story gives us insight into human psyche and the way it is projected in a particular piece. This kind of analysis is immensely useful when used in conjunction with psychological theories of important person in the field most notably, Sigmund Freud.

Freud's major contribution to the world of psychology has been its categorization of human self. He felt that man has three layers of consciousness namely, Ego, Id, and Super Ego. He gave the example of an iceberg and argued that the top most part of the iceberg that can be seen by everyone is actually the part of one's personality that he wants to project to the whole world. This is the part that everyone can see and it doesn't always represent the real person since the real person is a combination of all three parts.

When applied to Kate Chopin's story 'Story of an hour', we notice that this happens to be very true in the case of Mrs. Mallard. Louise is a nineteenth century married woman who has just learned of her husband's possible demise in an accident. Instead of crying, she asks to be left alone and goes to her room to reflect. Everyone around her feels that this news has disturbed her a lot and thus she has retreated to her to mourn in solitude. This was the projection of her ego. This was the part of the self that she had become accustomed to showing to the world. According to her ego-image, she was a married woman who was loyal and faithful to her husband. Like every married woman, she loves her husband and cannot bear to be separated from him. Since the world doesn't have access to her Id or her unconscious mind, no one knows exactly how she much she doesn't love her husband and how much she craves freedom.

It is only when she retreats to her room and is all by herself that readers get a glimpse of her Id. this is when readers learn about her secret yearnings and her dreams. The truth is that every human being is like that. We have some dreams we hold dear but cannot share with others because they are just too valuable and we do want them to come true. We do not share our dreams because we cannot allow everyone to peek into our Id. this is the part of ourselves that we had kept a lid on so only we have access to it or may be one very close friend.

Louise is also like everyone else. She has her own dreams and longings. And interestingly her dreams are in stark contrast with her Ego. Mrs. Mallard is presented as a weak woman because she is a heart patient and everyone feels that she may not be able to bear the news of her husband's death. No one really knows the truth or the ID part of her personality. The truth of Mrs. Mallard is that she feels imprisoned in her marriage and craves independence. She wants to be away from the life she has lived for so long and wants a new identity and a whole new life for herself.

We are not told why Louise resents being married. But it is very clear from her reaction to the news that she is more than happy that her husband has passed away. She feels liberated: "She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" (p. 260). The build-up to this moment of revelation/discovery is slow and gradual. We never learn of her secret yearnings till this point thus like everyone outside the room, even we are completely oblivious to the ID till this point. Before this point, it feels that Louise is actually mourning the death of her husband: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat..." (p. 259)

The author has indeed tried to give away Louise's Id even before this point of revelation but full blown discovery is made when Louise finally allows herself to rejoice her freedom. As shocking as it might have been for some to accept in the 19th century, the truth is that many women actually feel stifled in their married lives. It is not that their husbands are cruel or bad in any sense but the mere fact that women cannot live a life of their own is what makes many women feel imprisoned. Every individual has his or her own dreams. They want to be able to pursue those dreams but most women fail to achieve them because of numerous responsibilities. That's when like every human being they too feel trapped. That's exactly what Mrs. Mallard is going through.

In the privacy of her room, she allows readers to get inside her head and see her dreams through her eyes. It is here that she exposes her Id for us to see and understand Louise as a person and not just as a married woman. Her sister begs her to open the door because she thinks Louise must be crying and she is certainly concerned. But inside the room, it's a completely different scene. Louise is not making herself sick as she tells Josephine but instead, "she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window." (p. 261) She was dreaming of the completely free life that lied ahead of her: "How fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long." (p. 261)

Now she suddenly wanted life to be very long. She wanted to enjoy every single second of it. She was no longer afraid of living. Louise had finally got a chance to pursue her dreams and she didn't want a life cut short by death. It is amazing how one hour had changed her perspective on life completely.