Annie S. answered • 01/09/21
MA in English, AP Literature Teacher with 6+ Years of Experience
Most of the symbolism in Kate Chopin's "The Story of An Hour" appears in the scene outside Mrs. Mallard's bedroom window. She retreats to her room after receiving the news that her husband died in a railroad accident. Chopin portrays Mrs. Mallard as retreating to her room after a "storm of grief," so the reader expects for the scene outside the bedroom window to be dismal and dark, reflecting Mrs. Mallard's emotions. However, everything Mrs. Mallard sees outside the window is bright, cheery, and hopeful. The "patches of blue sky" best symbolize Mrs. Mallard's true emotional response to learning of her husband's death: joy that she is now free from marriage and can live the remainder of her life independently. This joy is also symbolized by the trees "aquiver with the new spring life," as Mrs. Mallard is also realizing that she, in a way, is reborn. While it has not rained, there is a "delicious breath of rain" which symbolizes how Mrs. Mallard is going to be cleansed in her new, independent life; she will no longer be dirtied or sullied by a "powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature." Finally, the "countless sparrows twittering in the eaves" symbolize Mrs. Mallard rejoicing in her newfound freedom, and the "peddler crying his wares" is an example of the literary pastoral that emphasizes the overall positive imagery Mrs. Mallard is witnessing as she looks out on the world with new insight.
