Alfred Romero
11/6/2022
Professor Frank
Introduction to Literary Theory & Criticism
QCQ#8
In her short story “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard’s death as a result of “joy that kills” (Chopin paragraph 23).
I actually read this short story back in high school. Throughout reading it, I felt this familiarity along with it and as the story progressed towards the ending, I suddenly remembered that I’ve encountered this reading before. The whole story still fascinates me and I can think of multiple relations stemming out of it. For one, the irony of the ending kind of, in a way, reminds me of the irony behind the ending of “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats. While it’s not directly similar, the urn speaking out of nowhere kind of makes me think of Mrs. Mallard’s death, in that she didn’t exactly die from being overjoyed, but rather from the disappointment of seeing her husband alive. Maybe it’s not similar through the context of the story, but the irony behind both endings have the same effect for me as a reader, in that it throws me off completely. There’s also this view of feminism behind the story, as Mrs. Mallard cries out for her awaited freedom now that her husband’s dead.
I guess my question for Chopin would come from a Marixsm related point of view. When writing this, was cultural capital involved with the process? I’m assuming the former, but was this written more as a social/economic message, or as a work of literary art to be admired?
