“THE STORY OF AN HOUR”
K AT E C H O P I N
AUTHOR: KATE CHOPIN (1851-1904)
• Wrote two published novels
and about a hundred short
stories in the 1890s
(Realism Literary Period)
• Most of her fiction is set in
Louisiana and most of her
best-known work focuses
on the lives of sensitive,
intelligent women.
BUILD BACKGROUND: STATUS OF WOMEN
• “The Story of an Hour” takes place about 100 years ago, when
the status of women was very different from what it is today.
• Both custom and law severely limited women’s actions and
their control over their own lives.
• Women were not allowed to vote, so they had almost not
political or legal power.
• Not allowed to own property, and their educational and
employment opportunities were limited.
• Women had little or no financial independence.
STATUS OF WOMEN, CONTD.
• Few careers were open to middle-class and upper-class single
women, and even fewer to married women-like Mrs. Mallard
in this story- who were expected to be supported by their
husbands.
• Those who did work had to turn over their wages to their
fathers or their husbands.
• In most American marriages of the time, the husband was the
undisputed head od the household and made all the
important decisions.
BEFORE YOU READ
• Predict what you think might happen in this text from the first
line:
“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.”
LITERARY ELEMENTS: IRONY
Irony: When something opposite of what was expected
happens
There are three forms of irony:
• Verbal
• Situational
• Dramatic
VERBAL IRONY
Definition:
• When a character says something different than what is
meant. (sarcasm and understatement are included)
• In literature, however, a reader can sometimes take literally
something a writer meant ironically
• The remedy for this misreading is to pay close attention to
context.
Example
• Prometheus says to Zeus, "You are as kind as you are wise."
Zeus thinks it's a compliment but it’s actually an insult
because Prometheus doesn't think Zeus is wise.
SITUATIONAL IRONY
Definition:
• When what happens is entirely different than what is
expected.
Example:
• Guy Montag, the protagonist of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit
451, is a fireman. However, in this novel set in a possible
future, a fireman doesn’t put fires out: he starts them,
burning books which society has deemed dangerous and
unsafe.
DRAMATIC IRONY
Definition:
• when a writer allows a reader to know more about a situation
than a character does.
Example:
• In Romeo and Juliet, the reader knows that Juliet has taken a
sleeping potion. Everyone else, except Friar Lawrence,
believes she is dead.
LITERARY ELEMENTS: SYMBOLS
• Symbols- Determine what these objects and people
might stand for while reading the text:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Heart Troubles
Heart
Mrs. Mallard
Spring time
Patches of blue sky
Chair facing an open window
LITERARY ELEMENTS
• Look for examples of:
• Foreshadowing
• Figurative Language
• Use of Diction to create imagery within the text
WRITING ACTIVITIES
• What is your interpretation of Mrs. Mallard’s death?
Write a persuasive essay, using textual evidence, to
support your thoughts.
• Write a comparison/contrast essay differentiating the
use of irony within the text (namely situational and
dramatic irony) and use textual evidence to show this
contrast (4-5 paragraph essay)
• Discuss symbols within the text. Discuss, using
textual evidence, your interpretation of these
symbols