Symbolism and the Story of an Hour

Chopin's "Story of an Hour" and the Use of Symbol

Kate Chopin uses various symbols, such as the open window, the home, the heart, the news of death, and stairs, to convey themes of alienation and otherness, both of which underscore the ultimate irony in "The Story of an Hour" about a woman who happily "becomes" a widow only to find, tragically, in her moment of bliss that her husband is actually still very much alive. Chopin's main character Mrs. Mallard is unhappily married to Mr. Mallard and it is this unhappiness that sets her apart from other women: "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance" (Chopin) -- that is to say, Mrs. Mallard is set apart from other women by her lack of love for her husband. She eyes the open window and wants to be free. Her sickness is not the result of some physical ailment but rather the result of her psychological sense of oppression and suffocation, which she feels is the result of her marriage. News of her husband's death is like the bars of a prison door swinging open and setting her free. Chopin indicates as much through her through usage of various symbols.

One of the first symbols the reader encounters in the story that suggests how alienated Mrs. Mallard is from everyone is the "heart trouble," which her friends and family know she has -- though they ironically do not know its cause. Her heart is afflicted by her husband's mere existence: it is as trapped as she is within her room and within her marriage. Her "heart trouble" is a symbol of her isolation and lack of connectivity with her husband. The two are not one -- though they should be.

The second symbol is the "open window," through which Mrs. Mallard sees, as if for the first time -- following the news that her husband has been killed in a wreck -- the world outside "all acquiver with the new spring life" (Chopin). This "new spring life" that she perceives outside is also symbolic of the rejuvenation of her own spirit that she now feels brimming inside her: her alienation is no longer a problem -- the weight of oppression has been lifted. Life is restored thanks to the "good news" -- not of Christ's Redemption of mankind (the traditional "good news") but rather of her husband's death. This irony reveals the depth of alienation that Mrs. Mallard has felt, no doubt, for a long time.

The home itself is a symbol of her alienation -- her room is situated upstairs, away from the society downstairs, away from the world on the street outside her window, away from the solicitation of guests at the front door. She is separate, like a prisoner, locked up alone in solitary confinement. The others do not understand her predicament. They have misdiagnosed her illness -- but Chopin makes it clear to the reader because she has an open window on the heart and mind of Mrs. Mallard. She sees and invites the reader to see by way of her careful use of symbols throughout the story the underlying theme that drives the narrative.

As Mrs. Mallard feels this new life inside her, she rises up, over her sickness to the surprise of her friends and family and rushes down the stairs, which serve as a symbol of transition from her alienation and otherness to a state of self-possession, happiness and communion with the world: she is literally rejoining society in her descent down the steps, ready to embrace the world. However, her embrace is blocked as her husband suddenly and unexpectedly opens the front door and gives her such a shock that she dies. Her otherness is ironically confirmed once more when her friends and family suggest that she died from the overwhelming happiness of seeing her husband alive again.

In conclusion, Chopin uses the ordinary symbols of a house, a room, a heart, an open window and a staircase to suggest themes of alienation and otherness in "The Story of an hour." The main character Mrs. Mallard is separated from her peers both physically (she is removed from their presence, isolated in her chamber atop the stairs) and mentally (they do not know or understand the condition of her "heart sickness" -- only she does -- and, of course, Chopin). But by using these symbols as pathways to the mind of Mrs. Mallard, Chopin is able to suggest to the reader what the family and friends of Mrs. Mallard all miss -- namely, that she is happier to be a widow and free than she is to be Mrs. Mallard and tied down.