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Page 1: Kate Chopin

Kate ChopinKate Chopin

The Story of The Story of an Houran Hour

Page 2: Kate Chopin

• American author Kate Chopin (1850–1904) was born in St.

Louis in 1850.

•When the author was four, her father died in a train accident.

• Started writing at age 39

• Southern regionalist writer, most of her fiction is set in

Louisiana – her writing themes of class relations,

relationships, and feminine sexuality shocked her 19th

century readers.

• Died of a brain hemorrhage in St. Louis on August 22,

1904.

Catherine (Kate) O’Flaherty

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Family – Kate raised 6 childrenFamily – Kate raised 6 children Husband - Oscar ChopinHusband - Oscar Chopin

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• Written in 1894, published the same year by Vogue magazine

• The story of an hour in the life of Mrs. Louise Mallard

• Deals with the issues of female self-discovery and identity

Story of an Hour - FactsStory of an Hour - Facts

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•Mrs. Louise Mallard: Protagonist with “heart trouble”

•Brently Mallard: Husband of Louise – Assumed dead after a

railroad disaster.

•Josephine: Sister of Louise – She tells Mrs. Mallard of her

husband’s death. Josephine embodies the feminine ideal.

•Richards: Friend of Brently Mallard – first hears word of Brently’s

death.

CharactersCharacters

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• Assumed during Chopin’s lifetime 19th century amongst Cajun and Creole societies in Louisiana

• in the home of Louise Mallard. More about the location is not specified.

SettingSetting

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ThemesThemes

• Irony

• Female self-discovery

• Identity and selfhood

• Role of Women in Marriage

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ToneTone

•Ironic detachment, melancholy. The

unrecognized or unspoken

unhappiness that seems to rule her life

is realized only upon word of her

husband's demise, and swiftly taken

away again at his arrival.

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MotifsMotifs

• Broke/Broken

•The window

•Her heart trouble

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IronyIrony

•What is understood to be true by the characters

within the story – and what is understood by the

reader?

•Reveals the distance between what appears to be

true and what is actually true.

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StyleStyle

• Simple action, detached point of view, third person limited.

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The Story in Context: American experience and literary genreThe Story in Context: American experience and literary genre

• Published in 1894 in an era with many

social and cultural questions occupied

American’s minds, Chopin’s work shocked

her 19th century readers. The story was

initially rejected by Century and Vogue

magazine. The “Woman Question” involved

which roles were acceptable for women to

assume in society. Women were not

allowed to vote until 1920.• Since the 1960’s rise of the feminist

movement, Chopin’s work has been

rediscovered and is now acclaimed for

precisely the reasons it was denounced

during her lifetime.