As a famous feminist writer, Kate Chopin's writings have long been studied extensively by scholars. However, an in-depth analysis of how her text interprets the concept of feminism in different perspectives is rarely found in the study of feminist literary criticism. In this article, I would like to argue that one of her works, The Story of an Hour, reflects her feminist nature by analyzing the interrelationship between the text, the context of the story and the author, and the reader's expected responses. When discussing whether a text is about feminism or not, feminist literary critic Lisa Tuttle defined the goals of a feminist text and its criticism as follows: Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay To develop and discover a feminine tradition of writing. Interpret the symbolism of women's writing so that it is not lost or ignored from a male perspectiveRediscover ancient textsAnalyze women writers and their writings from a female perspectiveTo resist sexism in literature and Raise awareness of the sexual politics of language and style. Analyzing this text as a feminist literary work, we will conduct an in-depth analysis of it through the different perspectives mentioned above. Before entering into an in-depth analysis, the context of the text chosen for this article, The Story of an Hour, will first be introduced. It is considered the best-known short story by the famous American writer Kate Chopin (Bender 459). A forerunner of American feminist authors of the late 19th century, she had written many works that earned a worldwide reputation. The story illustrates the author's beliefs regarding the role of women in marriage and female identity during the time period (Bender 364) by describing a woman's emotional change upon hearing the news that her husband has died due to an accident and events that followWe will begin by discussing the centralization of female characters in the text, which is often considered a tradition of feminist writing. This idea is best explained by analyzing the text itself. There is a contrast in the number and choice of words in describing Mrs. Mallard's emotions as she oscillated between numbness and extreme joy. First, early on, she was shocked when she learned about her husband's death. Kate illustrated this event using only one simple prose narrative sentence; but regarding the surprising ongoing scenes describing her happiness over her husband's death, Kate used a series of vibrant and powerful words; some were even uttered by Mrs. Mallard herself. There is a great contrast in the balance and choice of words here which tells us that Kate would like to emphasize Mrs Mallard's feelings after acknowledging her husband's 'death'; rather than focusing on telling us more about the old history between her and her husband. Secondly, one could judge by the setting of the scenes in the text. It is believed that Mrs. Mallard's underlying psyche was never revealed to the outside world. This is explained and illustrated by where he expressed his emotions. They were only found in the room but not outside the room, which further tells us that Mrs. Mallard could only lock herself in her room to discover truly important feelings without being hindered by others. Even the windows outside her room are described as alive and vibrant like her mind, while everything about her physically is closed. It suggests to us that the death of her husband is the only moment in which the discovery of her truth beginsfeeling, referring to the psyche but not to the physical. Both the windows and the rooms play the role of archetypes that further suggest the message of female freedom and the exploration of true female thought. Expression using this method is a typical approach in feminist writings as direct expressions during the period were not encouraged. Third, in addition to the occasional use of certain words that indicate his inner world of details and life, and occasionally ironic or playful uses of certain words and phrases are observed, which further suggests the limiting nature of their marriage. One example is Kate's illustration of the relationship between her and her husband. Unlike the expressions used to describe her emotions, simple and direct language is used here to describe situations (which Mrs. Mallard is not emotional about), which further suggests that she did not have any strong feelings towards her husband. If her husband's death mattered, Kate wouldn't choose to use just one sentence to describe her feelings. The choice of words reflects the relationship between men and women, which is a significant element in a feminist text. In addition to the apparent recognition and narrative, Kate also tried to emphasize women's inequality by making use of some invisible clues, which serve as symbolic effects. . The text was initially titled "The Dream of an Hour". But in a revision published later, the text was renamed "The Story of an Hour." Suggested by Edmund, the change of the word 'dream' to 'story' further suggested the validity of the text. He also told us that what was illustrated in this story is not an isolated case, but rather is a commonly observed phenomenon. Even the protagonist's first name, Louise, provided an additional clue. The late revelation of her given name suggested that Mrs. Mallard effectively lacked individuality and identity until her husband's "death", which allowed her true psyche to appear. Before that, Kate called her Mrs. Mallard, a name that obviously indicates relationship and subservience to her husband. Her real name Louise is only described for the first time when she finds herself in the room. But unfortunately the name is really the feminine form of the masculine Louis. So even when Mrs. Mallard regained her identity, it was still partly a male identity that she could never free herself from. The surname Mallard also suggests that Mrs. Mallard's identity and social status are not in question, as Mallard is synonymous with wild ducks, an animal that has long been considered dirty and cheap. The importance of this topic is highly appreciated since the first sentence of the text already mentions the name. Mr. Mallard, however, was not even mentioned in the text. Judging from the texts mentioned above, the nature of a feminist text is clearly revealed regarding context and language. But what was the underlying reason why Kate wrote this story? And if the text turns out to be a feminist text, what significance does its publication have in its time? Before we give an answer, we must first briefly understand Kate's life and history in the period in which the text was written. Throughout her life, Kate experienced different and difficult lifestyles, including the early deaths of her father and her husband. Without the support of her families and being a single woman, she was very isolated from the community. This is not an isolated case since, after all, women at the end of the 19th century in America were treated like slaves. They were expected to do everything and work for their men. Marriage could never be decided by women, but rather they were the.
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