"The Story of an Hour" and Critical

Approaches to Literature

1

Literary Theory (pp. 43-58)

� The way we

“see” (read and understand)

literature

depends largely upon what kind

of “glasses” we

are wearing.

Literary Theory

� We call this

“perspective” or “point of view.”

� No single lens gives us the

clearest view.

� Most people use

several lenses

at once.

Why should I think about literary theory?

� Literary theory provides a deeper understanding of a text.

� Looking at a story from different perspectives often results in discover-ing new and intriguing things.

Literary theory lets you in on the “secret.”

How many sides to a story?

Take notes!

� Most likely you have been taught Formalism/

New Criticism. This is just one of many ways

to approach a text.

� Although there are many “lenses” (different

ways you can approach a text), we are going to

study seven in particular.

Types of Literary Theory (“Lenses”)

� Formalist / New Criticism (pp. 43-46)

� Biographical Criticism

� Psychological Criticism (pp. 47-48)

� Historical, Cultural, and Marxist Criticism (pp. 49-50, 52-58)

� Gender (Feminist, LGBT) Criticism (pp. 54-55)

� Mythological (Archetypal) Criticism (pp. 46-47)

� Reader-Response Criticism (pp. 48-49)

Formalist/New Criticism

� Concentrates on literary

features such as symbol, imagery, tone, style, and

structure to determine

how these function together to create the

reader’s experience.

� Supposes that there is a

central, unifying theme

in every work.

� Says there is one

“right” answer that can be found

within the text.

"The Story of an Hour" and Critical

Approaches to Literature

2

Formalist Analysis of Kate

Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”� Consider

• adjectives, adverbs, vivid verbs (diction)

• foreshadowing (“heart trouble”)

• metaphors (“storm of grief,” “a very elixir of life”)

• personification (“something coming to her… creep-ing out of the sky,” “monstrous joy,” “joy that kills”?)

• repetition (“open,” “free”)

• symbols (open window/“new spring life,” closed door)

• similes (“like a goddess of Victory”)

• irony (her sudden death at the end, “joy that kills”)

� What can you infer is the theme?

Biographical Criticism

� Concentrates on the author’s life

experiences and how those may have

influenced him or her

in writing the work.

� It is believed that every

work has a single interpretation—what

the author intended.

Biographical Analysis of Kate

Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”� Research Kate Chopin’s life and

marriage. Is any character a representa-tion of the author? (If not, don’t use this approach.)

� Look at the work through the author’s eyes. Is Chopin making a personal comment?

� How would the effect be different if a man, a woman who was a former slave or poor,

or a 21st-century writer had written this?

Psychoanalytical Criticism

� Explores the

symbolic meaningsof events

and the

conscious or subconscious

motivations

of the characters or the author.

� Takes into account

dreams, subcon-scious

desires, and

sexual repression

(for example,

the Oedipus or Electra complex).

Psychoanalytical Analysis of

Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”� Imagine that you are a psychotherapist and

Louise Mallard (or Kate Chopin) is your patient. (Do not assume the protagonist is the author.)

� What makes her the way she is? Why does she do what she does?

� What are her subconscious fears? What are her subconscious desires?

� Is she healthy or disturbed?

� Does she have issues with authority (what we might casually call “daddy issues” or “mommy issues”)?

� Can she adapt and function in her world?

� Does she have a “breakthrough”?

Historical, Cultural, and Marxist

Criticisms� Treat a literary text as a

document reflecting, producing, or being produced by the social conditions of its time or culture.

� Take into consideration what was happening in the world or a society at the time the text was written (for example, wars, social issues, political movements, andindustrialization).

"The Story of an Hour" and Critical

Approaches to Literature

3

Historical Analysis of Chopin’s

“The Story of an Hour”� Consider the author’s and protagonist’s

social (and economic) class.

� Consider what the world was like in the time

(late 19th century) and place (New Orleans) the story was written and takes place.� What was going on in the American South?

� What was life like then?

� How would the story be different if the main character were of a different race or social class?

� What comment might Chopin be making on social rules and expectations?

Gender (Feminist/Gay/Lesbian)

Criticism� Explores how what society

says is masculine or feminine is reflected in a literary work,

often seeking to correct or

supplement a heterosexual/male-dominated critical

perspective.

� Considers how litera-

ture portrays women and/or LGBT people.

� What was life like for women in Louise Mallard’s (and Kate Chopin’s) society?

� Who holds power in that society?

� Consider the female (Louise and Josephine) and

male (Richards and Brently) characters. Does each fit the stereotype of his or her gender? How? If not, how is he or she different?

� Which characters show power or weakness? How?

� Why is the protagonist called “Mrs. Mallard” in the beginning but “Louise” later in the story?

Feminist Analysis of Chopin’s

“The Story of an Hour”

Mythological (Archetypal)

Criticism� Looks for underlying, recurrent

patterns in literature (like death and rebirth/the seasons) that reveal universal meanings and basic human experiences.

� Finds associations between a literary work and widely known stories like myths, religious texts, and fairy tales.

� Can you find any allusions to familiar

stories or universal truths?

� The four seasons

� In what season is the story set?

� What is the significance of this season? What does it typically represent?

� How does this relate to the character of the

protagonist?

Archetypal Analysis of Chopin’s

“The Story of an Hour”� Says that every reader’s interpretation is

unique because every reader has a different biography, history, gender/sexual orientation, mythol-ogy, and psychology.

� What the reader sees and understands, not what the writer may have intended, is what is important.

Reader-Response Criticism

"The Story of an Hour" and Critical

Approaches to Literature

4

Using at least one of the critical approaches

discussed in class today, write a 1,000-to-

1,200-word, five (or more)-paragraph literary

analysis of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an

Hour.” Specific topic choices are on the handout.

Be sure that your essay focuses on a single

main point, clearly stated in the thesis. Don’t try to

write every thought that you have about the story;

narrow your topic so that you can cover it

completely in 1,100 words. I encourage you to

visit the ASC with these assignment instructions

before you begin your draft.

Your essay must contain an introduction paragraph that includes the

author’s name, title, genre, and theme and ends with the thesis statement. The

essay must also include three or more body paragraphs providing specific

“evidence” or details (including direct quotes from the story, at least one per

body paragraph), and a concluding paragraph that returns to the idea of the

thesis and provides a sense of closure.

Also, be sure you complete and submit all five steps in the writing process:

1. prewriting/brainstorming

2. organizing/outline with thesis statement

3a. drafting (the first draft)

4. revising (SmarThinking/Academic Success Center AND group discussions),

3b. drafting again (the second draft), and

5. proofreading (at least two classmates).

The final version of the essay is due on MyHCC/Canvas before class

begins February 16. Final essays will NOT be accepted if you do not

participate in and submit all five steps!

Remember, the literary essay is meant to offer and investigate an interpretation of the work.

It is NOT a summary!To decide on a controlling idea for a critical analysis, consider the reading strategiesdiscussed in pages 43-58 of your textbook:

� Formalist (How does the language or style used affect the reader?)

� Psychoanalytical (Is there anything Freudian in the work? Why?)

� Reader-Response (Consider your personal reactions to the work.)

� Historical (How did or does the time period affect the writer or reader?)

� Gender (Does the work have a feminist or homosexual level of meaning?)

� Mythological (Does the work echo a universal story? If so, why?)

� Biographical (How does the work reflect aspects of the author’s life?)

By Kate Chopin

Consider DICTION—how the author’s use of descriptive

language such as ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, and VIVID

VERBS as well as figurative language such as

METAPHORS, SIMILES, and SYMBOLS helps develop the

character and the conflict of the story.

metaphor (p. 327): a figure of speech, not meant to be

factually true, in which one thing is compared or substituted for

something else…

simile (p. 335): … a figure of speech whereby two unlike

objects are compared to each other with the word like or as…

symbol (p. 336): … an element that stands for something

beyond its literal meaning in the text…

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.

It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken

sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.

Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too, near her.

It was he who had been in the newspaper office when

intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with

Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of “killed.” He

had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by

a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any

less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad

message.

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.

"The Story of an Hour" and Critical

Approaches to Literature

5

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.

� “heart trouble” — Mrs.

Mallard is weak or

delicate; also, what does

“heart” symbolize?

� “great care,” “gently” —

notice the adjectives

and adverbs

� “afflicted” — notice that

this verb suggests

passivity, victimhood

� “her husband’s death”

— the initial conflict or

problem of the story

It was her sister Josephine who

told her, in broken sentences;

veiled hints that revealed in half

concealing. Her husband’s

friend Richards was there, too,

near her. It was he who had

been in the newspaper office

when intelligence of the rail-

road disaster was received, with

Brently Mallard’s name leading

the list of “killed.” He had only

taken the time to assure himself

of its truth by a second

telegram, and had hastened to

forestall any less careful, less

tender friend in bearing the sad

message.

� Adjectives: “broken,”

“veiled,” “half,”

“second,” “careful,”

“tender,” “sad”

� Adverbs: “too,” “near,”

“only,” “less”

� Vivid verbs: “revealed,”

“concealing,” “leading,”

“assure,” “hastened,”

“forestall,” “bearing”

� Repetition: “less

careful, less tender”

� 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.

� Adjectives: “many,”

“paralyzed,” “sudden,”

“wild”

� Adverbs: “not,” “at once,”

“alone”

� Vivid verbs: “did not

hear,” “accept,” “wept,”

“had spent,” “would have”

� Figurative language:

“storm of grief” (nature

imagery)

1. Do prewriting and outlining for the

1100-word analytical essay and bring a

hard copy of those steps to class

Tuesday.

2. Read pp. 82-84 of your textbook.

3. Continue reading or re-reading your RP

book and taking notes.