Blog #9

The Story of an Hour by Kate Choplin is about a woman who is told her husband has died and then she goes through phases of grief and joy. She feels sad about the death of her husband, but then she realizes that with her husband gone she now has a new freedom she did not have before. For example, she says "There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself" (Choplin). The setting of this story is back during the time period when women did not have much of a say in anything, so I can see her excitement in now having this new freedom. But even though I can understand her excitement, I think its really mean and rude of her to be happy and joyful because her husband is dead. The main character makes marriage seem as something that is very oppressive and when she finds out the news of her husbands death she is only sad for a little while. Completely different from the main character is this story, Ralph Waldo Emerson reacts much different with the news that his wife had died. Ralph Waldo Emerson was described as being "unstrung, debilitated by grief" and his life was filled with "miserable apathy" (Marriage). In comparison with the wife in this story, I think that Raplh Waldo Emerson was a better spouse considering he actually cared about the death of his wife. The author of this story did mention some of the saddness felt by the wife when she says "She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms" (Choplin). Although I could relate Emerson to this story a little bit, I could not find in ways in which Henry David Thoreau related to this story because he was never married (Henry). Because he was never married, I really have no idea what his reaction would be to a situation like this.

Bibliography

"Henry David Thoreau Biography." About.com Classic Literature. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.

"Marriage Emerson - Living Legacy." Harvard Square Library. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.

Choplin, Kate. ""The Story of an Hour"" Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.