The Rhetorical Analysis of The Story of an Hour

代奎

【摘 要】凱特·肖邦是一位著名的女權主義作家。女性意識強烈地體現在她的作品之中。修辭方法在《一個小時的故事》中的成功運用，取得了顯著的效果，升華了主題，也揭露了當時女性的悲慘狀況。

【關鍵詞】《一個小時的故事》；女性意識；修辭手法

【Abstract】 Kate Chopin is a famous feminist writer. A strong sense of feminine consciousness is embodied in her works. The successful employment of rhetorical approach in the story not only has achieved dramatic effects and intensified the themes but also has exposed the womens anaclitic situation.

【Key words】The Story of an Hour； feminine consciousness； rhetorical approach

1.Introduction

The Story of An Hour was written by Kate Chopin， an American novelist and short-story writer. This story explores deeply into the emotional rollercoaster of the protagonist Louise Mallard who firstly felt uncontrollable exultation from the freedom of a life without her repressing husband， and then died of disillusion when her dreams of freedom and independence were gone， upon seeing her supposedly dead husband's sudden return. In this paper， the rhetorical analysis pays much attention to the rhetorical techniques including symbolic method， comparison， irony and so on.

2.Rhetorical analysis

2.1 Symbolic method

A symbol is a sign which suggests more than its literal meaning. Door and window mean a lot in literary works， there is no exception in the story. For example， Mrs. Mallard was overwhelmed by the death of her husband， she went to her room alone with the door locked and faced the open window. Then she locked the door and would have no one follow her. Actually she locks the door to resist the outside world， it is a kind of avoidance. The open window implies the possibility of her pursuit for freedom and the new spring life outside the window symbolizes her keen longing for the brand new life. The comfortable， roomy chair shows a happy delusion which seems to be touchable ahead of Mrs. Mallard. At last， Brently Mallard opened the front door with a latchkey， Mrs. Mallards strong desire for freedom and new life vanished into thin air with the opening of the door.

2.2 Comparison

Comparison appears frequently in the story. An example can be found in Mrs. Mallard's reaction at the news of her husband's death. She accepted the reality immediately which is different from other wives. This contrast outlines Mrs. Mallard's specialties in characteristics. She holds an usual mind with the hatred for women's low positions and the eagerness to freedom. Mrs. Mallard is like a contradictory combination： frail in body but strong in mind； obedient in outside but rebellious in inside； both love and unlove toward her husband； freedom in desire but restraint in reality. Even the complex relationship of life and death is a contrast： before Mrs. Mallard realized that her husband's death would bring her freedom， she was physically living but mentally dead； however， after that，she was relived both in body and in mind； at last， while her husband came back， her life as well as her thoughts went to an end.

2.3 Irony

Irony is a contrast or an incongruity between what is stated and what is really meant， or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. At the beginning of this story， the author adds irony to describe how careful Mrs. Mallard's relatives are when they told her husband's death， she locked herself in the room and everybody regarded her as over- sad. However， her tears were the celebration of her escape and reborn. This irony is suitably used to reflect her earnest eager for freedom. Though not willing to see her husband's death， she would rather lose her husband for the exchange of her freedom. It espouses how strong her eager for freedom was.

3.Conclusion

The author employed a series of rhetorical devices with simple words to describe vividly the marital situation of American women in 19th century， making their desire for freedom and inability to escape from marriage remarkably revealed， thus the purpose behind the story is achieved.

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