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  • Essay / Kate Chopin's Representation of Feminism

    As a famous feminist writer, Kate Chopin's writings have long been studied in depth by scholars. However, one rarely finds an in-depth analysis of how her text introduces the concept of feminism from different perspectives in the study of feminist literary criticism. In this article, I would like to show how 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 expected responses of the reader. When speaking about whether or not a text focuses on feminism, 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 should not be banned”? Get an original essay To develop and discover a female writing tradition. To interpret the symbolism of women's writing so that it is not lost or ignored by men's point of viewTo rediscover ancient textsTo analyze women writers and their writings from a feminine point of viewTo resist sexism in literature andTo increase awareness of the sexual politics of language and style.By analyzing this text as a feminist literary work, we will carry out an in-depth analysis of it through the different perspectives mentioned above. Before entering into an in-depth analysis, we will first present the context of the text chosen for this article, The Story of an Hour. It is considered the best-known short fiction of the famous American writer Kate Chopin (Bender 459). A precursor of American feminist authors of the late 19th century, she wrote numerous works which acquired a worldwide reputation. The story illustrates the author's beliefs regarding the role of women in marriage and female identity during a specific time period (Bender 364) by describing a woman's emotional change upon receiving news of death of her husband following an accident and the events that followed. discuss 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 to describe Mrs. Mallard's emotions as she oscillated between numbness and extreme joy. First of all, at first, she was shocked when she learned of her husband's death. Kate illustrated this event using only one simple prose narrative sentence; but concerning the surprising scenes which described her joy at her husband's death, Kate used a number of vibrant and powerful words; some were even said by Mrs. Mallard herself. A great contrast in balance and choice of wording is seen here, telling us that Kate would like to emphasize Mrs. Mallard's feelings after acknowledging her husband's "death"; rather than focusing on the old story between her and her husband. Second, it could be judged from the setting of the scenes in the text. Mrs. Mallard's underlying psyche is believed to have never been disclosed to the outside world. This is explained and illustrated by the place where she expressed her emotions. They are found only in the room but not outside the room, further telling us that Mrs. Mallard could only lock herself in her room to discover real, important feelings without obstruction from others. The windows outside her room are also described as alive and vibrant like her spirit, while everything about her is physically cloistered. This suggests to us that the death of her husbandis the only moment where the discovery of one's true feeling begins, referring to the psyche but not the physical. The windows and rooms play the role of archetypes further suggesting the message of female freedom and the exploration of the true thoughts of women. Expression using this method is a typical approach in feminist writings, as direct expressions during this period were not encouraged. Third, apart from the use of certain words indicating one's inner world of details and life, ironic or playful uses of certain words and phrases are sometimes observed, which further suggests the binding 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 strong feelings towards her husband. If her husband's death really mattered, Kate wouldn't choose to use a simple phrase to describe her feelings. The choice of words reflected the relationship between men and women, which is an important element in a feminist text. Besides the apparent recognition and narrative, Kate also attempted to highlight women's inequality by using invisible cues, which serve as symbolic effects. . The text was initially titled “The Dream of an Hour”. But in a revision published later, the text was retitled "The Story of an Hour." Suggested by Edmund, the change of the word "dream" to "story" further suggests the validity of the text. It also taught us that what was illustrated in this story is not an isolated case, but rather a commonly observed one. The protagonist's first name, Louise, also gave an additional clue. The late revelation of her first name suggests that Mrs. Mallard did indeed lack individuality and identity until her husband's "death", which allowed her true psyche to emerge. Before that, Kate named her Mrs. Mallard, a name that states the obvious. relationship and subordination with her husband. Her real name Louise is only first described when she finds herself in the room. But unfortunately, the name is indeed the feminine form of the masculine Louis. So even when Mrs. Mallard reclaims her identity, it is still partly a masculine identity that she could never escape from. The surname Mallard also suggests that Mrs. Mallard's identity and social status are not concerned, as Mallard is synonymous with wild ducks, an animal long considered dirty and cheap. The importance of this argument is highly appreciated as the first sentence of the text already bears the name mentioned. However, Mr. Mallard was not even mentioned in the text. Judging from the aforementioned texts, the nature of this text as a feminist text is clearly revealed with respect to its context and language. But what was the underlying reason that pushed Kate to write this story? And if the text turns out to be feminist, what is the significance of the text's publication in its time? Before answering, let's first have a brief understanding of Kate's life and her story at the time the text was written. Throughout her life, Kate experienced different and difficult lifestyles, including the untimely deaths of her father and husband. Without the support of her family and being a single woman, she was very isolated by the community. This is not an isolated case since, at the end of the 19th century, American women were treated like slaves. They were expected to do everything and they worked for their men. Marriage could never.