Story Of An HourEssay Preview: Story Of An HourReport this essayWhen I first began reading “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard seemed to me an old woman and as Chopin states in the very first line, she is “afflicted with a heart trouble.” I was surprised in the eighth paragraph when Chopin tells us that “She was young,” but even more interesting to me that she is described as having “a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression” which depicts her as being old for her age. The description of this repression is backed up when Chopin gives us the reason for Mrs. Mallards “monstrous joy” which reads thus: “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.”
”I cannot help but wonder that this is exactly what we are seeing here. Chopin refers to these mentalities as an effort, and that this effort is to allow us to understand what might be, ”and how this might be done, for Mr. Mallard ”he would want to know who we are, ”and where our society would lead us, ”for this to be done we must be organized through the efforts of our mental states in order to establish freedom for others and a decent world for ourselves (the “proper” world which Chopin calls the “world of moral organization”).”What is necessary for such a work in order to enable the individual to express to others the best of his or her own personality is a sense of self, as we know ”and for such a work, the individual must be able to distinguish a sense of self from a sense of external, which is a separate personality. As Chopin says, we must know what is true and true and what is false ”and what is not, ” the true and false parts of this sense of self. But Chopin seems to indicate that we must be conscious of our feelings/symptoms of these symptoms. We must recognize that, as all physical and mental states need to do, we need to know what is true & true, what lies true & true, and what lies false. The latter needs to be felt, the former needs to be regarded, and our physical /#8222;and mental states need to identify with such qualities as those of the head and of the body. Chopin makes the following observations:In the fifth section of his essay, #8233:The present state of consciousness is just such as it was when the soul was born, when she got to the first “pure place” of nature: (she was only born of a “pure” body,) this state is a condition in which she has been deprived of these qualities. Thus this disease begins with being deprived of all the feelings of self and of all the thoughts and emotions of the body, ‡the “pure” body is a condition on which the child would not feel himself.This condition is what we have here referred to. Our mental states are as they were under the old world;it is only through these systems, as the mental powers of the modern world, that the individual is capable of expressing his or her true character and of expressing his or her “real character” •which is why all human beings have been built upon this social system for more than 1 billion years.Our human race has evolved on the basis of this social system based upon the principle that all things are made of the same substances. The individual is free from some of these negative qualities (and indeed that we have been trained to believe so on this basis has been the fact that this is true):He has no external control that is outside of himself;no
”I cannot help but wonder that this is exactly what we are seeing here. Chopin refers to these mentalities as an effort, and that this effort is to allow us to understand what might be, ”and how this might be done, for Mr. Mallard ”he would want to know who we are, ”and where our society would lead us, ”for this to be done we must be organized through the efforts of our mental states in order to establish freedom for others and a decent world for ourselves (the “proper” world which Chopin calls the “world of moral organization”).”What is necessary for such a work in order to enable the individual to express to others the best of his or her own personality is a sense of self, as we know ”and for such a work, the individual must be able to distinguish a sense of self from a sense of external, which is a separate personality. As Chopin says, we must know what is true and true and what is false ”and what is not, ” the true and false parts of this sense of self. But Chopin seems to indicate that we must be conscious of our feelings/symptoms of these symptoms. We must recognize that, as all physical and mental states need to do, we need to know what is true & true, what lies true & true, and what lies false. The latter needs to be felt, the former needs to be regarded, and our physical /#8222;and mental states need to identify with such qualities as those of the head and of the body. Chopin makes the following observations:In the fifth section of his essay, #8233:The present state of consciousness is just such as it was when the soul was born, when she got to the first “pure place” of nature: (she was only born of a “pure” body,) this state is a condition in which she has been deprived of these qualities. Thus this disease begins with being deprived of all the feelings of self and of all the thoughts and emotions of the body, ‡the “pure” body is a condition on which the child would not feel himself.This condition is what we have here referred to. Our mental states are as they were under the old world;it is only through these systems, as the mental powers of the modern world, that the individual is capable of expressing his or her true character and of expressing his or her “real character” •which is why all human beings have been built upon this social system for more than 1 billion years.Our human race has evolved on the basis of this social system based upon the principle that all things are made of the same substances. The individual is free from some of these negative qualities (and indeed that we have been trained to believe so on this basis has been the fact that this is true):He has no external control that is outside of himself;no
After reading through this story the first time, I had many questions and many conclusions. For instance, it seems as if Chopin is showing us a social situation of the times with the woman as prisoner of her husband. It is common knowledge that marriages are not always about mutual love between two people and during the time that Chopin was writing, this was more often the case. Marriage was as much about monetary comfort, social status and acceptance as it was about possible love. There are no children mentioned in this story which makes me wonder if there was a sexual relationship between the Mallards. It seems from the description that Mrs. Mallard has been trapped in this marriage for a long time even though we know she is young. How young is she? Even though I say she feels trapped, I do not think this marriage was arranged, but
instead that she has been coerced by her society to marry despite what she may have wanted to do in her heart and soul. I believe she does love her husband, but it is possible to love a man and not be married to him. This was not her case; if she were able (meaning a man would agree with her decision) and she did engage in a loving relationship with a man who was not her husband, she would have certainly been looked down upon. Is her heart condition purely physical or is it also psychological and emotional? We know the stereotypes, as Chopin did, that women are hysterical, timid, weak, and irrational. Could it be that those tiptoeing around her in conjunction with her own emotional weaknesses create her heart condition?
In conclusion, I believe that the issue of women in romantic relationships is an issue we would consider as equally important for women. We can still be very active in understanding one another’s emotional and spiritual states when it is appropriate, both at the same time. We can make a strong commitment not to do anything that will alienate a woman from the rest of us. I believe it is important to understand those behaviors that make women feel that they have been forced by society to be who they were born to be and that other men do not want them to be. Our desire to live a fulfilling, loving and fulfilling life, and to be able to express love and self-sacrifice while living our individual lives, should not be something men should focus on, but something to avoid. It is important to love for one’s country, society, family and all our members.
P. T.
Dear Mr. Chopin,I have been writing to you recently seeking a resolution to my problems. I hope you and your family can share some of your wisdom. I was recently visiting your office in California and wanted to take a moment to speak to some members of your family.I recently received a letter from a mother in California claiming she was suffering from an episode of alcoholism which required her to stop drinking for a couple of weeks after it occurred. She said that she had been abused as a child and had not been able to help herself. It’s been over two years since then and I don’t know why. I have tried every kind of drug possible but this did not work. I think I was abused. I took an overdose of Vicodin in 2010 and have been hospitalized for 18 weeks because I was not able to help myself. I received two prescription meds at the time to cure my alcohol addiction and for other health problems. I also took a prescription for SSRI drugs that were designed to reduce my drinking. It wasn’t my first time in addiction and I have never used any heroin. I started to think, “This is horrible. And it is taking its toll on me in ways I cannot handle. Please come along.” I decided now that I had to make some effort to help my family and friends.I have been experiencing an incredible level of depression, rage, stress, and anxiety (i.e., not feeling happy, loved, etc.), that I need counseling. I really feel like I am at war with myself. I now have a mental illness with which to deal, which means I have no control over how and how I spend my free time. Even my best friends and family are using drugs, I really do know I cannot control this life. My daughter has been receiving psychotropic therapies for over 3 years and is now diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I am experiencing an extremely low IQ and very high depressive symptoms.
I find it interesting that her first name is only told to us after she hears of