An Hour’s Change： Psychological Analysis in Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour

【Abstract】This paper gives a brief introduction of Kate Chopin and his famous work The Story of an Hour[1].By analyzing the psychological change of the protagonist Mrs. Mallard and her reactions to her husband’s death， it can show readers a woman’s mixed feeling with a background in the 19th century. Also， Kate Chopin is a really writer excelled in detailed character description and conflict building.

【Key words】The Story of an Hour；Change；Psychological Analysis

0.Introduction

As a good weaver of story plot， Kate Chopin builds wonderful conflicts in her work The Story of an Hour. This story， with a detailed description of the heroine’s psychological movements， reveals a vivid character Mrs. Mallard who experienced different stages of emotional changes when she suddenly hears that her husband is dead and suddenly discovers he is alive after all. This feminist author Chopin makes this female protagonist controversial as she feels liberated by the news of her husband’s death and her whirlpool-like emotions[2].

1.The First Change

The first emotional change stems from the very beginning of the story as Chopin lays out the suspense and immediately seizes readers’ heart. The sad news of Mrs. Mallard’s husband evokes the readers’ deep sympathy for her because of her heart disease. Other characters in the story also worry about whether Mrs. Mallard can survive the fatal blow or not. However， Chopin then tells readers： “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same， with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance… When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone.” After knowing the news， she weeps for a while but so quickly she hides her sadness and rushes back into her room， with a strange feeling of the following life. It is the first time that Mrs. Mallard knows there is something waiting for her after her husband’s death， however， she actually know nothing about what is waiting for her. It might be sadness or might be restraint-free. Therefore， there must be a complex feeling in Mrs. Mallard’s mind. She finds the chance to freedom in such a sudden way， which directly making Mrs. Mallard lose her head.

2.Conflict in Mind

The second conflict showing Mrs. Mallard’s emotional change happens when she imagines a lot about what would be after her husband’s death. She finds there are “trees that were all quiver with the new spring life.” This feeling of freedom seems too subtle for her. She even starts to think “yet she had loved him—sometimes.” But she soon abandons this thought. It turns out Mrs. Mallard has been relieved. She might live in a superficially happy life in other people’s eyes according to the conventional and secular criteria. Her husband is gentle and considerate. However， under Chopin’s pen， Mrs. Mallard is much inhibited for ages because she has to act the traditional role as a virtuous wife， instead of herself [2]. That’s the reason why even if she struggles a little bit for the grief， she still feels free at last.

3.Unexpected Ending

Lastly Mrs. Mallard’s emotional change drives her to death. Ironically， she still wants to taste the sweetness of freedom when she could not see her husband any longer. She prepares all herself， both psychologically and physically. At this moment， the asocial and amoral id has controlled her so she becomes excited and ecstatic that she could not hold back her emotions. Therefore， she just let them out when “there was a feverish triumph in her eyes， and she carried herself unwittingly like a goodness of Victory.” Just because of her unscrupulous feeling of being free， she fails to stand the truth when seeing her husband come back alive. She fails to stand the blow brought by the trick God played with her. The last change of her emotion is too sharp and quick that makes she die from unexceptional answer.

4.Conclusion

The significance of analyzing the psychological changes on Mrs. Mallard gives more priority to this female protagonist. As this story might have draw materials from that social background when women suffered from the inferior position， females’ inner world really draws Kate Chopin’s much attention. Short as it is in length， Chopin’s work The Story of an Hour affords readers much for thought. Notably the author has perfectly adopted the stream of consciousness and psychological approach in her work and produced a lively effect.

【References】

[1]Chopin，Kate.The Story of an Hour [M].Du Lixia. The Selected English Short Stories.Xi’an：Xi’an Jiaotong University Press，2011.

[2]http：//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_an_Hour，2014-09-08.

[3]劉卓，王楠.女性意識的頓悟[J].東北大學(xué)學(xué)報（社會科學(xué)版），2004，11（第6卷）（6）.