21 pages • 42 minutes read
Kate ChopinThe Story of an Hour
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1894A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Nature and Weather
Chopin uses images of nature to symbolize self-determination as the natural state of the individual. When Louise retreats to her room in grief, it is the sight of dispersing clouds, the smell of rain, and the sound of sparrows singing that inspires her turn from grief to consideration of new possibilities. The “open window” that frames Louise’s experience of the natural world further symbolizes the new opportunities that have become available to her.
Chopin uses sensorial descriptions of the natural world to propel Louise’s psychological shift. She suggests that Louise’s feelings are similarly natural, despite being incongruent with social expectations. Later in the story, Louise pictures the “Spring days, and summer days […] that would be her own” (Paragraph 19), again connecting fair weather to her own happiness and sense of possibility. When Brently returns, “travel-stained, composedly carrying his […] umbrella” (Paragraph 21), he metaphorically brings the rainstorm home with him, returning Louise to her previous state of marital subjugation.
Heart Health
The state of Louise’s heart symbolizes her emotional state and builds narrative tension. Initially, Richards and Josephine endeavor to keep Louise as calm as possible while breaking the news of Brently’s death, not wanting to aggravate her heart condition. Louise’s poor heart health symbolizes her unfulfilled self and the limitations of her marriage, as the heart symbolizes emotion and love. As Louise considers the implications for her independence, her heart rate steadily increases, a sign of improved health and excitement. After Louise realizes that she is “free!,” her “pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood [warms] and [relaxes] every inch of her body” (Paragraph 11). Louise’s increased heartrate shows both her exhilaration and the precarity of Louise’s new life; since the reader is aware that Louise has a bad heart, they are also aware that such excitement might have adverse physical consequences. Brently’s return both literally and metaphorically breaks Louise’s heart—she cannot withstand the physical experience of shock nor the emotional loss of her freedom.
The Locked Door
The locked door that separates Louise from Josephine symbolizes Louise’s rejection of societal influence. Louise responds to her husband’s death by placing a physical barrier between herself and the thoughts and opinions of others. This symbolizes her shift toward introspection, and provides her the psychological freedom to experience thoughts and feelings that would be considered taboo by wider society. When Louise refuses to unlock the door for Josephine, Chopin symbolizes Louise’s broader refusal to think or feel the way that others might expect her to, her rejection of outside influence. She asserts her agency by choosing the moment when she unlocks the door and reintegrates into the household. This symbolic return to the societal sphere becomes her downfall, as leaving the individualized environment of her bedroom causes her to witness Brently’s homecoming, immediately resulting in her death.
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