Feminism in American Literature

1. K. CHOPIN AND
FEMINISM IN THE
STORY OF AN HOUR
Designed by: Tran Thi Lai
Chu Thi Ben
Ngo Kim Hanh

2. OBJECTIVES
• To give information about the author and the
story
• To prove that Kate Chopin is one of the first
feminist authors of the 19th
century
• To present feminism in the story

3. OUTLINE
 Overview of the story & feminism
 Women’s fate in the 19th
century & in the story
 Feminism in the story

4. Overview Of the stOry
 Author
• Kate Chopin (1850-1904), born Katherine O’Flaherty in St.
Louis, Missouri on February 8th 1850.
• One of the first feminist authors of the 19th century.
• Chopin was writing short stories, articles, and novels.
• Her famous short stories: The Story of an Hour, A Pair of Silk
Stockings, A Reflection, A Respectable Woman,…

5. Overview Of the stOry
 The Story of an Hour
• Kate Chopin’s 1894 short story
• One of the most famous short stories
• Telling about the circumstances of Kate Chopin’s own life
• Drawing the portrait of women in the 19th
century

6. feminism
Women should be allowed the “same rights, power, and opportunities”
as men and be treated in the same way.
Cambridge Dictionary Online
An interdisciplinary approach to issues of equality
and equity based on “gender, gender expression,
gender identity, sex, and sexuality” as understood
through social theories and political activism.
Eastern Kentucky University

7.  Society’s expectations – female oppression
 In family: - taking care of home
- bound to husbands
- no voice
- no control over property and children
 In society: - no opportunity for education
- entirely shut out of political activity
- not allowed to vote
AmericAn women in 19th
century

8.  Women’s expectations
 To fill separate spheres of society
 To live their lives largely homebound
 To decide their own fates
 To get involved in political and social activities
AmericAn women in 19th
century

9.  “Mrs. Mallard”
 The first name – her husband’s name (Brently Mallard)
 Only referred to as the wife of Brently Mallard
 Her true name was said only one time by her sister - “Louies”
women oppression in this
story
 no identity as her own
 just a woman belongs to Mr. Mallard
 in marriage women were owned by husbands

10. women oppression in this
story
 Marriage as a "crime”
“no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men
and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a
fellow-creature. "
 Not really cruel to her
 But stripped her identity and will
 No control over their own lives

11. Feminism in the story
• Mrs. Mallard: a weaker person
- Afflict with heart trouble
- Come over with grief with the loss of her husband
“She wept at once, with sudden, with abandonment, in her
sister’s arm.”

12. Feminism in the story
- Physical exhaustion
“ Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion
that haunted her body, and seemed reach into her soul”.
=> Her strong emotions caused her physical exhaustion

13. Feminism in the story
• Feeling the open square before her house
- The tops of trees: aquiver in new spring life
- Rain: delicious breath
- A peddler: crying his wares
- A distant song : the notes are faint
- Sparrows: twittering

14. Feminism in the story
• Thinking about herself and her marriage
- About herself
“ She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke
repression and even a certain strength”.
- About her marriage
“She had loved him- sometimes. Often she had not”.

15. Feminism in the story
 Mrs. Mallard: a strong woman
• The way to accept the news
“ she did not hear the story as many woman have heard the
same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its
significance”.
• Experiences with “a storm of grief”

16. Feminism in the story
• Epiphany: Free, free, free
• Monstrous joy
“There would be no one to live for during those coming years;
she would live for herself”.
“ There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind
persistence with which men and women believe they have a
right to impose a private will upon a fellow- creature”.

17. Feminism in the story
“ She suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of
her being”.
=> Conflict with inner- self resolved
Realize her opinion matter
“Free! Body and soul free!”
=> Full freedom and regains life

18. “Elixir of life”
“ She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long”
⇒Feeling of relief
“ She carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory”
=> A Goddess is symbolic of the divine strength of a woman
Feminism in the story

19. CONCLUSION
 Overview of the story & feminism
 Women’s fate in the 19th
century & in the story
 Feminism in the story

20. REFERENCES
• http://www.academia.edu/6301630/Character_Analysis_of_The_Story_of_an_H
our_Kate_Chopin
• http://wgs.eku.edu/what-feminism-0
• https://prezi.com/yi_dkt-laylo/feminism-a-critical-analysis-of-the-story-of-an-
hour/
• https://engl308kirstie.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/feminist-analysis-the-story-of-
an-hour/
• http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-critical-feminist-view-story-an-
hour-387252
• http://study.com/academy/lesson/feminism-in-the-19th-century-womens-rights-
roles-and-limits.html

21. Thank you for
listening !