the story of an hour文体分析
The story of an hour 英文鉴赏教程文件
T h e s t o r y o f a n h o u r英文鉴赏A Feminist PerspectiveThe story The Story of an Hour, written by Kate Chopin is a short but powerful story. The ending of the story of an hour halts sharply, without much space between the climax and the ending. The ending reveals the themes of the short story, epitomizes the writing techniques the writer used, reinforces the plot and the ironic relationship between characters, makes the element—heart disease a clue throughout the whole story, and leaves us readers much margin to think about such as the nature of the protagonist.The story begins with two nonperson subject sentences. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gentle as possible the news of her husb and’s death.” This tells us the situation with Mrs. Mallard: troubled with heart disease, fragile, unable to bear any shock and carefully protected. The protection is restriction as well. In the first sentence the narrator revealed Mrs. Mallard’s heart tro uble. And there are several repetitions of the disease in whole story. The second place is “Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. ‘Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door---you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.’” The third place is “‘Go away. I am not making myself ill.’ No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open door.” The fourth is “She breathed a quick prayer that lif e might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.” The fifth is in the ending “when the doctor came they said she had died of heart disease----of joy that kills.” The firstrevelation is at the very beginning of the story. The last one is at the end. Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble is an important clue that goes though the whole article. It’s the center of the story. But these are not simply repetition. The point of view and the way of presenting are different. The first place is narrated from the limited omniscient point of view and centers on how people regard the disease and how will they treat her. The second quotation is from the perspective of Mrs. Mallard’s sister’s and shows her concern. The third and the fourth are from the protagonist herself. The third one is stated through dialogue and the fourth contains a compare showing Mrs. Mallard’s attitude toward life before and after the news. The repressed marriage makes her life wearing on rather slowly and she does not want to live a long life with this condition. But the news brings her hope and imagination. Each repetition carries with it some other related information which enriches the plot of the story.“He had only taken the time to assure himself of its tr uth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less friend in bearing the sad message.” Richard is Mr. Mallard’s friend. He knew about the disease and he is also the one trying to protect Mrs. Mallard. His hastiness is because of the disease. These two are closely related. In a hasty he came to tell the bad message. That why the mistake was made. He was not even sure of the husband’s death. This chain of events---Richard came back hastily, they happened to tell Mrs. Mallard before they saw the body and it was only an hour before her husband came back---might be coincident. This hastiness makes the reappearance of the husband possible and reasonable.In the end the doctors said Mrs. Mallard died of joy that kills. But actually it is not hard to think that the reason for her death is not joy but sorrow that kills. She was shocked to see her husband came back. In the shattering disappointment and sorrow the heart disease as repeated previously killed her. She was very joyful when she carried herself out of the room, like a goddess of victory. But no one knows. There is a conflict between Mrs. Mallard and society. All they knew were she had heart disease and she supposed to be sad at the news of her husband’s death. But no one thought it weird that she did not die of sadness but joy. They guessed the reason according to the traditional moral principles and from the perspective of man. While the reader know what’s happening. But the characters in the story don’t. The ending seems to be reasonable but actually is a fallacy. This presents us a dramatic irony, sharpening the surprise ending and lending us a lot to think.The end of the story leaves us enough margins to think about why is Mrs. Mallard so happy at her husband’s death? and so s ad at his return? Is she really a vile woman that curses her husband to die? If the answer is affirmative, what makes her so cold-blooded? Does the couple really love each other? Mrs. Mallard lived superficially a happy life in other people’s eyes accordin g to the conventional and secular criteria. Her husband was gentle. When the door opened, “it was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella.” This was the only direct description of Mr. Mallard. He should be a considerate gentleman. Mrs. Mallard had “two powerless white slender hands”, so shedid not have to work very hard to live. She is not impoverished in material life, but her ego is swamped in the then patriarchal society. She is not equally treated as man.“And yet she had loved him----sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being.” This sentence answers the question whether she loves her husband or not. She loved him to some degree. But compared with freedom and self-assertion, love does not count for much. She is deep inside inhibited. She lived a two-facet life. But she is not vile or cruel, because she repressed herself from the feeling, the ecstasy. “She was striving to beat it back with her will ---as powerless as her white slender hands would have been.” However, it was also because of her weakness. Her desire for freedom andself-realization is outclassed by the moral principles that had manipulated her for many years. Unconsciously, she knew it was “a monstrous joy that held her.”Maybe there are some other kinds of endings. But the ending given by Kate liberates the protagonist in a real sense, though it is somewhat a tragedy that she died of “joy”. The ending in this sense intensifies the themes and the author’s intention again.。
The Story of an Hour赏析
A Study into Feminist Consciousness ofThe Story of an HourAbstract：According to interpretation of the social background of the American South at the end of the 19th century and the Kate Chopin’s life experience in the illustration of the text and analyze the historical background of the leading role’s self consciousness, uncovering American society ignored the value of women and the shackles of a free spirit. With the help of the analysis of the writing technique, we can better understand the theme of freedom and death in the story.Key words: Women’s consciousness; Kate Chopin; The Story of an HourI. IntroductionKate Chopin is one of American’s most important women writers of the 19th century. His representative work “Awakening” is re cognized for performance pioneer of feminist thought. “The Story of an Hour,” published in 1894, is a boutique in Chopin’s short story.In this novel, a young woman learned that her husband died in a railway accident. She wept returned to the room. Slowly, she began to realize their soul changes: “she whispered, ‘free, free, free! ’... she know in spent a long time after the pain, she will complete her own.” Then, without warning, she did not take the train’s husband, open the door came in. When she saw him, her heart stops beating. Around her everyone thinks she was happy will like this. Is she really happy to hear the news that her husband is dead?This article is a feminist novel. Male chauvinist led to sexual inequality, feminism advocates also should avoid too extreme tendency (such as novel transcendence of male fantasy). We even western social feminism and the ultimate goal of equality for all (real sense of equality). Not any party surpassed and superior.II. The social background of Feminist ConsciousnessOverall, the United States in the 19th century, legal, religious and traditional practices strict restrictions on women, especially Southern women’s rights.总的来说，在十九世纪的美国，法律、宗教、传统实践严格束缚着女人，尤其是南部女人的权利。
英语文学赏析凯特肖邦一小时的故事
Thank you
Team：****
凯特· 萧邦
（Kate C本名凯 萨琳· 欧福拉赫蒂 （Katherine O'Flaherty）
凯特· 萧邦
Her important short 重要的短篇小说 stories 《Desiree‘s Baby》 《黛泽蕾的婴孩》 《The Story of an Hour》 《一小时的故事》 《暴风》 《The Storm》
《一个小时的故事》带有明显嘲讽意味与黑色幽默色彩，行文自然流畅，手法遒劲老 到，篇幅短小精悍，具有极高的艺术水准。医生诊断玛拉德夫人因过度喜悦而死，然 而只有领会她内心起伏转折的读者才明白她的死因并非狂喜，而是新生的自由落空的 绝望；并非心脏病发，而是自我的觉醒。
《The Story of an Hour》
The story of an hour by Dr Conrad's death reflects the author clinging to life, as well as to the social inequality between men and women and women's social status is low. Dissatisfaction with the reveal of the contradiction between the reality and the ideal immutability, profoundly expounded the theme of women pursuing equality and freedom.
TheStoryofanHour.doc
我读“The Story of an Hour”The Story of an Hour是一篇非常著名的短篇小说，作者凯特•肖邦叙述了女主人公Mrs. Mallard (Louise)在得知丈夫过世之后的一系列反应。
课堂上，老师说已有许多名家对这篇小说做出评论，但不知为何，第一次读这篇小说时就感觉有一种莫名的熟悉。
以下是我自己的一些看法：由小说的第三段“She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.”可见小说的女主人公Mrs. Mallard是一位Untraditioanal的现代女性。
这主要体现在两个方面：第一，她是一位女性。
她的内心也很脆弱，在得知丈夫去世时她会悲痛，也会哭泣。
第二，她是一位Untraditioanal的现代女性。
她不会歇斯底里的无法接受丈夫去世的事实，相反的，她很平静，很坚强，也很独立。
她不愿在朋友甚至是妹妹面前伤心。
也许她需要的不是别人的安慰而是独自的和解。
因而她会回到自己的房间，独自消化。
房间里的布置还是那么的温馨、和谐。
坐在扶椅上，她却感到整个人都垮了。
生活似乎已没有了希望。
望着窗外，树叶已生新芽，细雨绵绵，人们的生活依旧如故。
此时的她是否想起了和丈夫在一起的幸福时光？如果他还活着，不，就算他真的已不在了，他一定希望自己还像以前一样活着，不是吗？透过厚厚的云层她看到了一片蓝天，那一定是丈夫在看着她吧。
“The Story of an Hour”中所指的主位化分析
调， 突显或 主位 化 了的个 体 ， 可以 以不 同的表达方式 来表达 。
在 “ ｈ ｔｒ ｆ ｎＨ ｕ ” ， ｓ Ｍａｌｒ 这个 所指 就是 通 ｌ ｋｄｓｖ ｗｔ Ｉ ｅ ｐｎｈｒ ｆｅ ｎ ｒ ｎ ｅｄ ⑥ Ｂ ｔ Ｔ ｅＳｏｙｏ ｏ ｒ中 Ｍｒ． ｌ ｄ ａ ａ ｏ ｅ ａｅ ｉ ｖ ｏ ｅ， ｘｄａｄｇ ｙａｄｄａ． ｕ ｏ ｈｏ ｕ ｉ ａ
物 ” ｍａｎｃ ａａｔｒ 的意 思 。Ｐ ｒ ｔ ＆ Ｇ ｌ ｎ １ ７ ） 出 ： 前 面出现 的是 状语从 句 。作 者是把想 说 的关 于该 主题 主体 的 （ ｉ ｈｒｃｅ） ｅｆ ｔ ｅｉ ｏｄ （９ ４ 指 ｍａ “ 主位 化是一 个所 指 （ｅ ｒｎ） 发 展为该 话 语 中心主语 （ｅ— 东西从 不同角度来组 织 ， 角度仍是从 这个个体 出发 的。 ｒｆ ｅ ｔ被 ｅ ｃｎ 但
ｔ ｌ ｕｊｃ） ｒ ｂｅｔ的过程 。他们 所理 解 的主位 化就是 一个所 指在 与 ａｓ 的突 出位 置 ， 其他 的语篇 所指仍处 在不 突出的位置上 。他们强
在 第 １ 段 中 ，ｈ 仍然作 为该段 三个 句子 的主题 主体 ， ３ ｓｅ 出 １ ⑤ Ｓ ｅｋ ｅ ｈｔｓｅｗ ｕｄｗ ｅ ｇｉ ｗ ｅ ｈ ａ ３ ｈ ｎｗ ｔａ ｈ ｏ ｌ ｅｐ ａａｎ ｈ ｎｓｅｓｗ
ｔ ｅ ｋ ｎ ， ｔｎ ｅ ａ ｄ ｏｄ ｄ ｉ ｅ ｔ ；ｔ ｅ ｆ ｃ ｈ ｔ ｈ ｄ ｎ ｖ ｒ ｈ ｉｄ ｅ ｄ ｒｈ ｎ ｓｆｌｅ ｎ ｄ ａｈ ｈ ａ ｅ ｔａ ａ ｅ ｅ
语篇 中的突显过 程 （ ｒｇｏ ｎ ｉｇ ， ｆ ｅ ｒｕ ｄｎ ） 某个特 定所 指被 置 于意识 现在各 个句子 的语 法主语 的位 置上 ： ｏ
高职 教研究
《一小时的故事》中的讽刺艺术
《一小时的故事》中的讽刺艺术【摘要】长期以来，许多评论家认为凯特·肖邦的《一小时的故事》是一篇女性主义作品。
但本篇论文不仅从文章标题、语言的应用、主人公之间的关系，还从具体的情节以及作者自身所撰写的日记探索了故事中所表现出来的戏剧化的讽刺。
肖邦尽管对女主人公持同情态度，但也对她的行为反应进行了一定的讽刺。
总的说来，作者对女性所获得的独立自由的态度是矛盾的。
【关键词】讽刺；自由；婚姻；戏剧化Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is regarded as one of the masterpieces of feminist literature. The story presents a repressed wife’s momentary discovery of what freedom from her husband might mean to her. She awakes to a new sense of herself when she learns of her husband’s death, only to collapse of a heart attack when she sees that he is alive.Feminist critics explore the patriarchal social forces that have impeded women’s efforts to achieve full equality with men. They also explore women’s consciousness of struggling against men’s repression. However, such points of view are only one-sided. The significances implied in it are more profound and complex. Kate Chopin not only has sympathy with the heroine but also gives a poignant irony, which presents her contradictory attitude to independent freedom.The title “The Story of an Hour” itself implies ironic meaning. It’s more obvious to see this when it’s first published with the title “The Dream of an Hour”. Life and death, freedom and repression, all included in Mrs. Mallard’s experience within an hour, yet can be read by readers only in a couple of minutes. The freedom that Mrs. Mallard envisions is just a dream that can never come true, for she finally dies of such “Monstrous joy” or “joy that kills”.Irony is implied from the beginning of the story. Richards and Josephine take it for granted that Mrs. Mallard loves her husband too deeply to accept the fact of his death. So“ great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news…” The story presents a striking contrast between Mrs. Mallard’s real inner world and their cautiousness. It’s ironic that Mrs. Mallard’s ecstatic “self-assertion” is interpreted by Josephine as grief. Josephine implores “before the closed door with her lips with the keyhole”, not knowing that her sister actually has become a “goddess of victory”. Her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richards take the greatest care of her. But such concerns are subjective, which lack hearty communication and close attention to individual life. Their invisible forces create a cage decorated with “love” in which Mrs. Mallard has to live and received everything from outside passively.Relationship among the characters in the story is not complex, but is endowed with particular significance in expanding the theme, because Chopin strengthens the absurdity of the relationship, which seems perfect apparently.In paragraph 13, the story describes Mr. Brently Mallard as this: He is a man who “has kind, tender hands”, and “he never looked save with love” upon his wife. Mrs. Mallard admits “yet she had loved him——sometimes”. Mr. Mallard’s only “crime” is coming from work one day, and yet he is the one who is bereaved at the end of the story, for reasons he will neverunderstand. He is the man most deserving of sympathy.According to traditional normal concepts, the marriage of this couple is happy, as what the people around her have expected. They are so sure of this that they see nothing of her real living state. Nobody understands what marriage means to her, including her closed-associated husband. Kate Chopin offers Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to reveal problems that are inherent in institution of marriage. Men and women in marriage help each other meanwhile become mutual spiritual shackles. Marriage itself means the end of the freedom of being single; also it means the mutual restriction of a couple. However, marriage has some advantages that the freedom of being single doesn’t have. It is for such a reason that Kate Chopin expresses her deep love to her dead husband in its diary that “she wou ld unhesitatingly give up everything ”if it were possible for her husband to come back to earth. “To do that, I would have to forget the past ten years of my growth——my real growth. But I would take back a little wisdom with me, it would be the spirit of p erfect acquiescence.”This passage of her diary raised provocative questions that how “the spirit of perfect acquiescence” relates to Mrs. Mallard’s “self-assertion”. This diary was written only one month after Chopin wrote this story. If her diary reflected her true feeling of that period, there would be no difficulty in understanding her ironic attitude to the pursuit of freedom. Although Chopin’s deep feelings toward her husband might not result in “the Story of an Hour”, reading her diary can still add to the possibilities of interpretation of it. The connection between a real author and a literary work can’t be cut off completely.It is ironic when Mrs. Mallard’s life parallels the end of winter and the earth’s renewal in spring. When she feels a surge of new life after grieving over her husband’s death, her own sensibilities are closely aligned with the “new spring life” that is “all quiver” outside her windows. Although she initially tries to resist that renewal by “beating it back with her will”, she can’t control life force that surges within her and all around her, she feels triumphant——like a “goddess of victory”. But this victory is short-lived when she learns that her husband is still alive and with him all the obligations that make her marriage feel like a wasteland. The surprising ending suggests Kate Chopin’s satire to Mrs. Mallard in a clear way. Mrs. Mallard, who “was drinking in a very elixir of life” dies of “joy that kills”(the doctor’s diagnose) only several minutes later. Readers can get the reason easily that she loses her life for the disillusionment of freedom, while all the other people believe in the doctor’s diagnose. This produces a kind of dramatized irony. It is possible that she is so profoundly guilty about feeling “free” at her husband’s expense that she has a heart attack. Whatever reason it is, her death is an ironic version of a rebirth ritual. The coming of spring is an ironic contrast to her own discovery that she can no longer live a repressed, circumscribed life with her husband. Death turns out to be preferable to the living death that her marriage actually means to her. Although spring will go on, this “goddess of victory” is defeated by a devastating social contract. The old corrupt social order continues, which is a cruel irony for Chopin.Above all, Chopin’s irony aims at “freedom” itself. The last phrase “joy that kills” works in concerns with “monstrous joy”, suggesting “monstrous joy” which stands for the spirit of freedomcontrols Mrs. Mallard successfully and leads to her sudden death. The crowning irony is the doctor’s assumption that she dies of joy rather than of the shock of having to abandon her newly discovered self once she realizes her husband is still alive. In the course of an hour, Mrs. Mallard’s life is irretrievably changed: her husband’s assumed accidental death frees her but the fact that he lives and all the expectations imposed on her by his continued life kill her. She does, indeed, die of a broken heart. But only Chopin’s readers know the real ironic meaning of it.Critics always regard Kate Chopin as a pioneer of feminist literature. However, for varieties of reasons, the author may take different stands and share different opinions while producing distinct works. Therefore, we shouldn’t analyze her works only from one aspect. In “The Story of an Hour”, we should see both the feminism and the poignant irony in it.【Ｒeferences】［１］张强．爱的悲歌：浅析凯特·肖邦的《一个小时的故事》[J]．名作欣赏，1999（3）．［２］申丹．叙事文本与意识形态：对凯特·肖邦《一小时的故事》的重新评价[J]．外国文学评论，2004（1）．［３］Michael Meyer.The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature Reading Thinking and Writing[J]. Bedford Books of St.Martin’s Press,1997．。
大学英语高级写作A-Rhetorical-Analysis-of-“The-Story-of-an-Hour”教学内容
大学英语高级写作A-R h e t o r i c a l-A n a l y s i s-o f-“T h e-S t o r y-o f-a n-H o u r”Professor ShuqingAdvanced English Writing11 November 2014A Rhetorical Analysis of “The Story of an Hour”“The Story of an Hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin in Louisiana 1894, it is considered as an outstanding work of feminist literature. In this story, the theme of the awakening and struggle of women’s self-consciousness is throughout the entire essay by the use of multiple rhetorical devices.In the essay “The Story of a n Hour”, Chopin uses the third-person narration along with several rhetorical devices to make the story such a success. By using third person narration the author knows every single thing of the characters, and she can reflect content as objectively as possible without the limitation of time and space. Therefore, she chooses the most typical scenes to show the protagonist’s psychological changes and plot the story in an impressive way. This helps readers to get more information from the author’s description.For example, it is clear at the very beginning of the story that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with heart trouble. This suggests that this trouble is both physical and emotional, a problem both with her body and unhappiness with her lack of freedom. This symbolism here also indicates her end. It is Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble that influences all her reactions as well as other characters. T he news of her husband’s death is brought to her “as gently as possible”. The reason Mrs. Mallard’s sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richards break the news like this, is because that they fear the news could make her condition worsen. As expected, Mrs. Mallard “wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment” and “When the storm of griefhad spent itself she went away to her room alone.” The word “storm” shows that it is an easy come easy go situation for Mrs. Mallard. It is ironic for a woman who loves her husband ends her crying so quickly. By using third person narration, Chopin freely changes the scene into Mrs. Mallard’s house and directly depicts the feeling and psychological activity of Mrs. Mallard. When she looks at the “new spring life” outside her window, a subtle and elusive thing from the “sky” comes into her bosom. “Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” and “self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!”. The “new spring life” and “sky” here symbolize the freedom and self-consciousness. Both Mrs. Mallard’ spirits and body are refreshed after her awakening of self-consciousness. Now, she is no longer a weak woman with serious heart trouble but a whole woman with confidence to face the true world outside her room. However, as soon as her stepped out her room and went down to the living room, her husband came back in a whole skin and crushes her dream. Her husband’s death g ives her a glimpse of a new life, and when that new life is swiftly taken away, the shock and disappointment kill her immediately. The doctors say she dies of joy and the story stops here abruptly. The irony of the ending is that Louise doesn’t die of joy as the doctors’ claim, but actually from the loss of joy.The full text of "The story of an hour" less than 2000 words, but the use of irony and symbolism through the third person narration clearly shows the difficult situation for female to pursue the process of awakening self-consciousness in the patriarchal society.。
storyofanhour解析
故事的主人公麦纳德太太除了有心脏病以外，过着传统意义上的“美满”生活:拥有温柔体贴的丈夫和关心她、爱护她的亲人朋友，物质上仿佛也没有什么问题。
但是，她的一举一动，包括语言和思维，完全按照社会传统的伦理道德范式进行。
与此同时，作为一个生命个体，她又有着心灵和肉体的特殊诉求，但这种特殊诉求与传统的伦理道德范式产生了冲突，这种伦理道德范式本身也对生命个体的诉求漠视和贬斥。
为了不被这个社会所同化和吞没，保持自己的个性化生存方式，她本能地抗拒改造、同化自己的外力，但在强大的社会意识形态体系中，她的这种抗拒是没有多少成功机会的。
小说作者通过小说人物的话语特征、相互关系以及戏剧式的场景描述揭示了女主人公渴望独立和自由，又逃不出被社会所吞没和同化的必然结局。
她的“笼子”就是她生活的社会，那些传统的伦理道德规范犹如一根根铁栏一样限制着她的自由。
虽然她的生命得以延续，但她的生存空间却是狭小的，渴望自由的灵魂是痛苦的。
她丈夫的突然死亡让她一下子窥见了“笼子”的出口，开始梦想着逃走后的美好生活。
女性主义经典《阁楼上的疯女人》一书的作者吉尔伯特和古芭认为在父权制文学传统中理想的妇女是被动的、顺从的、无私的、奉献的和天使般的，而那些拒绝无私奉献、按照自己的意志行动，拒绝男性传统为她们设定的顺从角色的妇女则是魔鬼。
妇女受到警告:“如果她们不能有天使般的行为举止，那么她们就必定会成为魔鬼”（程锡麟、王晓路，2001）。
从这个角度讲，《一个小时的故事》的主人公的觉醒背叛了男性传统为她设定的角色，她必然受到惩罚，她的悲剧在所难免。
小说通过人物的话语特征、人物之间的关系以及戏剧式场景的描述揭示了一个生命个体被一套完整的传统所包围，从而逐渐失去自己的生存空间的可悲现实。
它实际上是社会人的悲剧。
凯特·萧邦用短短一千多字的篇幅向读者叙述了一个小时中发生的故事。
而从这一个小时的故事中我们又看到了女主人公浓缩的悲剧一生，了解了当时的社会女性受到的令人窒息、不公正的压迫，极大地激励了之后的妇女解放运动倡导者。
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The Stylistic Analysis of the Story of an Hour I. Introduction: 1. Brief account of the author Kate Chop in was born Kate O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850 to Eliza and Thomas O'Flaherty. She was the only child to live past the age of twenty-five in her family. She married Oscar Chopin at the age of twenty in 1870 and then settled in New Orleans where she had five boys and two girls before she was 28. Her husband died of swamp fever there in 1882. Chopin found herself in a state of depression after the death of her husband. He started writing. She was well known as a woman writer. She had published over one hundred stories, essays, and sketches in literary magazines. Because of her pursuit of women’s freedom and independence in the USA, Kate Chopin is considered as a forerunner of feminist author of the 20th century. The Story of an Hour was written in 1894. It is one of Kate’s works of feminism. In 1915, Fred Lewis Pattee [1] wrote, "some of [Chopin's] work is equal to the best that has been produced in France or even in America. [She displayed] what may be described as a native aptitude for narration amounting almost to genius." 2. Brief account of the essay In the story of an hour, Brently Mallard has died in a roadway disaster. His sister told this to Mallard’s wife, Louise who was young, with a fair, calm face. When she heard this news, “she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms.” She went upstairs to a room and stayed alone for an hour because of the storm of grief. In the room, she sat in the chair and shook with a sob. She gazed out of a window. It was spring. Birds were singing. Every thing was so beautiful. Suddenly, an extraordinary thought occurs to Mrs. Mallard. “She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.” She was free! She just made her mind to go out from this tragedy. She found her husband still alive so that she was shocked and died!
3. Major theme of the essay The theme about this story: a woman in the society at that time who must be responsibly for the family without husband. She was weak in appearance but strong in heart. She was different from other women that she pursued the freedom of herself. However, she could not realize her dream because of powerlessness at last. II. Linguistic presentation of the theme In the short story of The Story of an Hour, the author told us this story as a third person. It showed her pursuit of freedom and independence. In her narration, there are more than one thousand words. Most of them are easy to understand. The sentences in this story are concise and fluent. 1. Phonological features In this story, the author used onomatopoeia, elision, and alliteration. First, in the paragraph five, the “twittering” can create vividness and vitality and it can produce a sound imagine. It can express the beauty of the spring outside the window. Second, I think the elision is best used in the 17th paragraph that Josephine asked Louise to open the door. It can reflect her worry and the emergency. At last, the alliteration is also used, such as “sound” and “scents” in paragraph 9; “opened” and “spread” in paragraph 13 and so on. 2. Graphological features There are four special punctuations are used in this story. First of all, exclamation marks are used in paragraph 11, 15, 16 to reveal her happiness and willingness to pursue freedom. Then, dashes are seemed in paragraph 17 and the last paragraph. In paragraph 17, dash is used to explain the reason. The last paragraph is used to represent the effect of irony. The third, comma are used between sentence. In this way, the situation can be expressed clearly and lively. Such as: “Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her.” In addition, quotation marks are also used in the second paragraph. “Killed” refers to the people who were killed in the accident. 2. Lexical features Almost words in this story are common words. At the same time, not only general words but also specific words do exist in this story. The specific words tend to give color and tang, tend to appeal to the imagination. We can understand better about the context emotions. Such as: “paralyzed”, “weep” in paragraph 3. We can realize her great grief about her husband’s death. Then, in paragraph 7, the word “sob” and in paragraph 9, the word “creeping” gives us a real scene through our imagination. In addition, many general words are also used like “crying” “delicious” “comfortable” in paragraph 5. Good writing or speaking has both general and specific information. Then, the immediate repetition in this story “free, free, free!” is obvious. It can let the readers understand the eager of the freedom of the author. But it can’t be a formal sentence. At last, the author used some emotive words. Such as “a litter whispered word” in paragraph 11 to show her attitude to freedom. 3. Syntactic features In this story, there are long sentences and short sentences. Long sentences are used in