In this passage from “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard reacts to the news of her husband’s death. What does the open window symbolize?
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What is the significance of the open window in relation to the main character's epiphany in "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin?
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EDCON eNotes educator| CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
The passage concerning the open window is rich in symbolism in this early feminist story published in 1894.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
Louise is able to look to the West through her open window. In the late 19th century, the American West was still seen as a place of immense opportunity--suggestive of the opportunities Louise will have outside her marriage. There are signs of spring everywhere: newly green leaves and the promise of rain to nourish them, active birds, blue skies--all harbingers of the new life Louise will be able to enjoy as a single woman. The peddler's wares represent, perhaps, new things that Louise will be able to bring into her life that may not have been possible in the oppression of her marriage. A distant song--close enough to be heard--suggests more beauty that is now coming closer to Louise's grasp.
In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the open window suggests that:
"She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window."
Through the open window, Louise is able to look at the American West, which suggested her of the opportunities she has outside her marriage. She is able to observe greenery, blue skies, promise rain and every other aspect of spring which suggests the new life of Louise being single. Things that were not possible due to the oppression in marriage, therefore through peddler's wares it suggests the new things that Louise will be able to get in her life. Lastly, the distant song suggests the beauty that is about to enter her life.