Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Perf. Heather Ordover.YouTube. YouTube. 8 February 2010. Web. 25 April 2013.
Kate Chopin. Digital image. ALBA Learning. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.
Victoria Heinsohn
Dr. Vancza
English 12 Texts and Contexts II
2 May 2013
Kate Chopin’s Point of View for an Hour
In the short story narrative The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin the literary element of point of view single-handedly pulls the audience into the plot and makes them more connected to the story line and characters. Seeing as how an hour makes up only four percent of the day, Chopin had to implement great emotion and plot twists in her story in order to grasp the attention of her audience. This technique is very similar to what most one hour television programs do in order to keep their audience interested for the next episode. By using such advanced point of view, Chopin is able to jump into the story line with little background and fully grasp the attention of her audience.
In The Story of an Hour, Chopin uses a nonparticipating, selective omniscient narrator in relaying a series of very traumatic events that take place all within an hour. The element of point of view has to do with the lens through which a story is relayed to the reader. There are multiple points of view a story can be told from whether its first person or third person or omniscient or objective. This story is told from third person because the narrator does not interact with the characters and is conveying the situation as if it was being observed as a scene in a play or from a bird’s eye view. Although the narration is strictly an observation, it is omniscient because the narrator does not interact with the main characters but is fully involved and knows ulterior motives, feelings and thoughts that the reader otherwise does not know. For example in the opening line of the story the narrator states “knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin 45). The reader learns two very important facts that affect the plot, the death of Mrs. Mallard’s husband as well as her heart condition. This is learned strictly through narration and before any dialogue concerning either topic is had. As the reader is forced to understand all of this foreshadowing, it simultaneously brings the reader in to the story.
A major part of the story has to do with keeping in line with the title, “The Story of an Hour”. This short story is meant to be a quick observation of sixty minutes in time. If the narration was from a different point of view, then it might not have been as straight to the point and could have taken longer to indulge the audience in background information without being blunt. Also, the reader is unfamiliar with the characters of the story so by using a nonparticipant narrator the reader is able to read the story from the mindset of the narrator, as if they themselves were observing this take place. The overall theme of the story is that situations occur unexpectedly, for example, the death of Mr. Mallard. The information of his death turned out to be a lie because he was nowhere near the accident and didn’t even know it had occurred. Also, his appearance at the very end which was extremely unexpected and shocking and ultimately led to the death of Mrs. Mallard. By having the narrator uninvolved in the story and plot directly it helps keep with the theme that things happen unexpectedly.
Another option of narrative point of view could have been Mrs. Mallard’s sister Josephine. Josephine would have been able to relay the background information necessary to inform the reader of certain pretenses but also would be removed enough from the inner workings of the Mallards’ marriage in order to maintain that feeling of shock when it was ruled that “she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills” (47). The shock that Mrs. Mallard was somewhat happy that her husband was dead is efficiently executed by the current narrator because the narration slowly reveals through observation that Mrs. Mallard was praising that she was free. The sister ultimately would not be a good choice of narration because she was placed outside of the room while Mrs. Mallard first locked herself in her room to be alone. Mrs. Mallard’s raw reaction is necessary because it helps reveal her inner feelings that were unknown to all of the other people involved. The narrator relates that “a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘Free, free, free!’ The vacant stare and look of terror that followed it went from her eyes […]. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (46). Such an intimate and authentic reaction might not have taken place if her sister was in the room. Mrs. Mallard might have felt like she would have to hide her true thoughts because her sister might begin questioning why she was saying these things. Having a removed narrator adds to plot development because Mrs. Mallard was comfortable and coped with the sudden and unexpected loss of her husband. Mrs. Mallard was able to fully collect her thoughts and react without having to deal with other people interrupting, thus why a nonparticipant narrator is so important. If Mrs. Mallard was not given the private scene in order to cope she might not have become so comfortable with the loss that when her husband walked in the door, she might not have died of shock or a “joy that kills”. Thus having a participating narrator could have possibly limited the possible outcomes of the story.
Overall, a selective omniscient narrator proves to be essential in the writing because it allows a selective view of the main character and allows the reader to focus and emotionally identify with her. This type of narration gives a genuine over view, but more importantly omniscient allows for less time and less details but still clues the audience in on all important background information they need in order to fully understand the story. Without omniscient narration the reader would otherwise have to wait for vital information through dialogue which would only prolong the story and climax. Therefore the literary element of point of view is the most essential part of Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour.
Login