Chopin, "Story of an Hour"

Chopin, "Story of an Hour"

Reading and Questions

Add these background notes to your notes packet on Kate Chopin.

Add these notes to yours, as well.

Multiple Choice

What are limits placed on individuals by society, determining how they should act, what they can do, and with whom they should interact?

• Irony

• Societal constraints

• Gender norms

• Religion

Today...

You will complete the reading and questions for Chopin's "The Story of an Hour." The next slide will contain a question about the title, and then the story will begin. Read the assigned portions, and then answer the corresponding questions.

Open Ended

First off, consider the title: "The Story of an Hour." What does this suggest to you about the story?

How might heart trouble be more than a physical ailment? Note that this is the first thing we are told about Mrs. Mallard and how other people respond to her. Evidently this is--at least for those around her--an important part of who she is. Who took care? Why is this written in the passive voice, with a "hidden" subject? What does this construction suggest about Mrs. Mallard's customary environment?

Multiple Choice

What news does Mrs. Mallard learn at the beginning of the story?

• Her husband has died.

• Her child has died.

• Her sister has died.

Multiple Choice

What do we learn about Mrs. Mallard at the story's opening?

• She loves her husband greatly.

• She has a heart condition.

• She has never married.

Think about what this paragraph suggests about Richards' feelings for Mrs. M. Why is he in such a hurry? Is the code of the "southern gentleman" at work here, or could there be more to his concern than that?

Note: we are first told how she does NOT respond, before we are told how she DOES respond.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following does not describe how Mrs. Mallard responded to her husband's death?

• She weeps.

• She stares out the window.

• She responds exactly as other women would.

• She goes alone to her room.

The patches of blue sky symbolically represent how Mrs. Mallard feels about her situation.

Open Ended

Describe what Mrs. Mallard sees as she looks out the window? What is the tone of this section?

Open Ended

What do you think is the "something coming for her" Mrs. Mallard mentions? Keep your answer in mind, and see if the end of the story supports that?

Multiple Choice

What word does Mrs. Mallard repeat over and over?

• Free

• Sadness

• Joy

• Sorrow

Multiple Choice

Mrs. Mallard knows she will never weep over her husband's death.

• True

• False

Open Ended

What is your reaction to the description of Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death? What does it suggest about her marriage and roles within it?

Open Ended

How does this work? How can she say she loved her husband but yet feel such freedom now that she knows he is dead?

Note that this is the first time we learn Mrs. Mallard's first name; before this, she has only been "Mrs. Mallard."

Multiple Choice

Which word best describes Mrs. Mallard in what you just read?

• Frightened

• Angry

• Victorious

• Bitter

Multiple Choice

Uh oh! Who walks in the door?

• Josephine

• The doctor

• Mr. Mallard

Multiple Choice

What type of irony is this?

• Verbal

• Situational

• Dramatic

Multiple Choice

What happens to Mrs. Mallard?

• She dies.

• She weeps.

• She cries for joy.

• She divorces her husband.

Multiple Choice

What do the doctors say killed Mrs. Mallard?

• "Overwhelming sorrow"

• "Joy that kills"

• "Feminine weakness"

Open Ended

What is ironic about the doctor's designation of Mrs. Mallard's death? What type(s) of irony might that be (you may list multiple)?

As you finish, consider...

Overall, the doctor's designation serves Mr. Mallard (and men, generally) well--it supposes the only reason a woman would die upon her husband's return would be out of the joy of seeing him again. We, of course, as readers, know this is not the case (dramatic irony).

As you learned at the beginning, Chopin's writings, while famous, were often controversial. Perhaps you can now see why.

Open Ended

Having read the story, you may (or may not...and that's okay) realize the title itself is ironic. Consider the title, in light of the story. How could it be an example of irony?

Open Ended

What do you think is Chopin's overall point in this story, particularly related to societal constraints placed on women? What are your thoughts on this overall point?