Trisha Hsiao

Of Joy that Heals

The monstrous joy killed Louise Mallard and Kate Chopin in 19th century, however, it heals every single female and awakens women’s movement in 20th and 21st century. As being repressed by the society at that time, Kate Chopin elaborated her pioneering inspiration through metaphors, symbols and ironies. Though it was overly rejected by the society at that time, her writings now have become precious for the contemporary intelligence of gender equality, for its keen and modern insights. Among that, The Story of an Hour is one of the greatest Chopin’s eloquent assertions.

By using few paragraphs to narrate Louise Mallard, Kate Chopin illustrated her characteristics and the background precisely. Suffering from heart disease, young Mrs. Mallard who was supposed to have colorful life like us was unwillingly deprived of freedom, just like most of the women at that time. However, she is different from them, from her reaction towards her husband’s death—she senses the right to have freedom. She is physically ill, but not mentally. It is this difference that makes her suffer in that generation. Her mind was generating the awakening thoughts but she was bound with social standards, which is showed on her appearance. Due to the incapability of being independent, free and self-assertive, she has been repressed exceedingly even when her husband died, she subconsciously cried with a wild abandonment that later on caused her physical exhaustion (which might also due to her heart disease).

It is of no question that between body and soul there exist some connection. When Mrs. Mallard finally came to realize, assure and anticipate that she would be free after her husband’s death, she died from the great shock, or say disappointment of her husband’s return. The diagnosis from doctors that Mrs. Mallard died “of joy that kills” is based on others’ viewpoint, the social expectation. Nobody knew what was going on in her mind for the hour she spent in her room alone, only Louise herself knew that she died from disappointment. Ironically, the doctors are somehow correct for the inappropriate presence of her “monstrous joy”, which is the exact joy that put her to death. In the old time, there was a saying, “women shouldn’t know too much.” Undoubtedly, Louise (and also Kate Chopin) is the victim under the conservative Creole society in the 19th century.

It’s under this circumstance that Kate Chopin needed to use a lot of metaphors, symbols and irony to indicate what she wanted to say. She wanted to advocate women’s identity and right in marriage and in life, which is also the central theme in this article: there’s no need to live for their husbands or love their husbands, women shall be free and have self-assertion…etc. She used symbols such as open window and blue sky indicating hope, and physical illness indicating her deprived freedom and social bonds. What was going on in her mind is not-known by the others which shows Chopin’s pity towards this intelligent thought, it should be accepted by people; what set her free from pain and social bonds is also what ended up her life which somehow gives veiled hints to Chopin’s life.

To conclude, Louise Mallard and Kate Chopin are similar by some means or other, for the joys that killed them. However, thanks to their sacrifice that this joy heals women in the present and future generations.

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