Dealing with grief is a common theme in literature, but very few stories tackle the death of a spouse from a perspective as raw and honest as the short novel by Kate Chopin. “The Story of an Hour” features a scenario that might seem comedic if it was not for the tragic implication of restricted freedoms imposed by gender norms, which Mrs. Mallard only starts questioning after her husband’s untimely death (Mays 337). Filled with symbolism, the short story renders a number of important social themes and conflicts, yet the one of heart issues as the metaphor for the problems in Mrs. Mallard’s family life is one of the most poignant symbols.
The heart issue remains a theme throughout the short story, serving both as the metaphor of the suffocating environment in which Mrs. Mallard has to live and as a foreshadowing to the events that would transpire afterward. In fact, the very first sentence of the narrative references the specified affliction, making it clear that the heart disease will become the subtle leitmotif for the entire story: “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin). Thus, the restrictive atmosphere of the patriarchal environment in which Mrs. Mallard unquestioningly lived throughout her entire life is set.
Remarkably, as Mrs. Mallard begins to recognize the weight of the restrictions that she had been suffering before her husband died, the mentioning of her heart condition becomes less overt. However, minor nods to the changes in her well-being and, particularly, the implicit metaphor of the heart disease subsiding slowly rings with every gulp of fresh air that she takes: “Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously” (Chopin). Thus, the heart disease as a symbol is referred only implicitly in the story since it loses impact as Mrs. Mallard recognizes an appreciates her newly found freedom.
Finally, the development of the specified metaphor culminates in the heart attack that Mrs. Mallard has as she sees her husband alive after finally recognizing the burden of the patriarchal system. In the specified scene, the heart issue clearly represents the metaphor for the patriarchy and the pressure that women experience as a result of it (Mays 523). The fact that the male doctor remains blatantly unaware of the actual causes of Mrs. Mallard’s death and declares that she died of “the joy that kills” only supports the described interpretation of the specified metaphor (Chopin). Therefore, the symbolism represented in the short story, particularly, any reference to Mrs. Mallard’s heart, serves as the reference to patriarchy and the suffocating impact that it produces, as well as the toxicity of unequal relationships in marriage.
Indicating that Mrs. Mallard’s family life is very unhealthy due to the social restrictions of which she was never aware to begin with, the symbol of heart issues is the strongest and the most evident metaphors in the story. Although being slightly more straightforward than it should be, the specified symbol opens a plethora of social issues worth discussing. Therefore, while it might seem that the symbolism of a heart disease that led to Mrs. Mallard’s death is mostly superficial, it, in fact, reveals concealed and profound meaning. Being a reference to rigid gender norms imposed on women and limiting any form of resistance, the specified symbol incorporates the tragedy of Chopin’s generation.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. VCU. 1984. Web.
Mays, Kelly J. The Norton introduction to literature. 13th ed., WW Norton & Company, 2015.