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Section One
Summary-Story of an Hour
Kate Choplin’s narration of ‘The story of an Hour’ is arguably the most plainspoken yet ironic critic of Lawrence Berkove. Berkove is the author of this article that’s the subject of this summary titled “Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour.” The story follows the societal constraints experienced by the 19th-century woman. The main character is Louise Mallard, is made to believe that her husband has died. Lawrence Berkove explains that Mrs. Mallard shows how Louise seems unaffected by the death of her husband. Contrary to societal expectations, she is not seen suffering or in pain following her husband’s death. This is so because Louise is experiencing an unusual feeling of self-assertion. The article has texts depicting that Louise’s character is mentally unstable. Berkove affirms that Louise “has realized that self-assertion is the deepest element of her being.” Although she loved her husband, his death brings new meaning as she breaks the chains preventing her from experiencing a free and true life. Worth noting, Louise comes to this conclusion not from reflecting on things but from imagination. Suddenly she dreams that she has been locked in a room where she is by herself fantasizing about her future. Berkove says that “In truth, Louise is sick emotionally as well as physically.” The author examines how Chopin’s texts reveal that Louise is indeed emotionally unstable. Chopin shows how the voice of Louise changes from objective and imaginative. When Louie speaks, she is even unable to tell whether her joy is monstrous. Berkove explains that she is delusional, and her unstable death is waging is aggregating her heart condition. Eventually, the reader witness Louise’s untimely death. Her obsession about self-assertion had pushed her to a breaking point because she overloaded her already weak heart (Berkove, 152). Berkove hints that her family was aware of her mental condition, and he finds it ironic that Lawrence goes home only to find a dead wife. It is ironic that Louise lost his life because of a monstrous “joy that kill” and that her heart did not have room for anybody else rather than herself.
Section Two
Response
Societal expectations have been controlling the way people behave in their day-to-day life for a long time. If a person fails to conform to the societal expectations, they are seen to be different, and people judge them harshly. Worth noting, When Louise loses her husband, she seems unaffected and unbothered by the situation to the surprise of many people. Although Bervoke maintains that this behavior paints her as delusional, and the theme cut across the story, what is on a person’s face is not always what is on their mind. The author of “The Story of an Hour,” argues that Louise, the main character in the book, experiences self-assertion because she is emotionally unstable. This ideology of mental instability is reinforced using the words of Berkove. Berkove says that “In truth, Louse is sick, emotionally as well as physically.” Further, Berkove uses the text written by Chapin to show the changes and transformation that Louise goes through. Her voice transitions from being objective and shifts to an imaginative atmosphere. In short, Loiuse is imagining all these things, including the fact that her husband is dead.
Berkove’s argument that the mental condition of Loiuse pushed her to her breaking point is not viable because, to begin with, Louise had just made up the story in her mind. In the first place, her husband never died. Worth noting, the story begins with Louise losing her imagined husband. Self-assertion, in many people’s view, is incapable of doing such kind harm. This is because if self-assertive people seem to only care for themselves, they cannot go to the extent of killing themselves. Bervoke talks about a “joy that kills” which was so monstrous that it led Louise to her untimely death. People expected that she would be distraught about her supposed husband’s death. It is only natural that death brings a lot of feelings of sadness and pain. Losing a loved one is never easy; no pain comes close to theta feelings. In society, when some people lose a family member, they cannot handle the pain. Worth noting, people tend to deal with losses in different ways. While others will get over the pain by immersing themselves in work, others become depressed to the extent they cannot pick up the pieces. In particular, women are more affected because society sees them not as strong as men. All in all, people are different, and they are likely to deal with grief in different ways. Giving people all the time they need to recover and get to their feet is key in the healing process. As such, Berkove should not have jumped to the conclusion that Louise is of unsound mind simply because she did not grief her husband how many people grief when they lose a loved one. Berkove says that Chopin “depicts Louise in the early stages of the delusion that is perturbing her precariously unstable health by aggregating her pathological heart condition.” Simple because Loiuse later on dies, there is no evidence pointing to the fact that she indeed suffered a mental condition. People die every day for many reasons hence the need to do away with the notion that joy kills.
Works Cited
Berkove, Lawrence I. “Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopin’s” The Story of an Hour”.” American Literary Realism 32.2 (2000): 152-158.
