The concept of romantic love in the story "Story of an hour" demonstrates a rarely spoken of aspect of love, that of imprisonment. Something that in the beginning seemed so sweet and beautiful, can become so ugly and smothering. Not that it happens intentionally, it just becomes a byproduct of giving yourself completely to another person. As the story describes the absolute elation of finally being granted freedom, "she knew she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her fixed and grey and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms to them in welcome". As the author describes, the woman didnt feel unloved or abused, just trapped in a love she hadn't thought possible to escape to escape untill that time. Even though the husband lived, she was able to achieve her own freedom through her own death.
As question three asks, does this challenge your definitions/beliefs of romantic love? Yes it does challenge my beliefs, because my belief in romantic love is that it should be open happy and free, not stifeling or imprisoning. Also it does show how feelings and beliefs can change over time. In the beggning everything is roses, over time those roses wilt and die.
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I think that in "The Story of an Hour", she may have loved her husband at one point, but slowly and slowly became repulsed by him, and felt that infinite freedom because she no longer had to worry about anyone but herself. Perhaps maybe her husband WAS abusive, we as the audience are never given that information, or maybe he was completely detached. In my interpretation, she was just old, and as people get older, the feel as though their time is running out, and clearly she felt that way. She wanted to feel like her own person again because she felt trapped, and in loving her husband, she lost true love for herself, and that happens more often that not when people are in love.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see your point of view about this story. She at first cried, but then she starts to say the word "freedom" to herself. Not many people that lose a loved one would automatically think of the freedom or perhaps benefits of a person being out of their life permanently. She obviously loved her husband and was saddened by the news of his supposed death otherwise she might not have shed a tear. The author stated "she would live for herself", which makes me think, she felt stifled by having to please another while sometimes ignoring her own desires. Perhaps her death was caused by the surprise of seeing her husband actually alive, or the guilt of thinking of freedom in his death. She may have died to achieve actual freedom as well just as you stated.
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