ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Time Videos 10 videos
"Nothing cared I that time would take me": the famous words of Dylan Thomas in his poem "Fern Hill." In this poem, the speaker fights age and aims...
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is about a young blacksmith boy (Pip) and his two dreams: becoming a gentleman and marrying the beautiful Est...
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" is like one long drug trip. Don't try this at home.
The Story of an Hour 25467 Views
Share It!
Description:
In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," Louise Mallard has a rather peculiar response to the news of her husband's death: instead of mourning for him, she's overcome with joy by her new freedom. If you think that's weird, wait until you see what happens at the end of the story.
Transcript
- 00:00
The Story of an Hour, a la Shmoop. Imagine this. . .
- 00:12
. . .you’re a repressed housewife. . .
- 00:15
. . .hit with the news that your hubby won’t be coming home for dinner. . .like, ever.
- 00:21
You hate to admit it. . .
- 00:22
. . .but you’re not quite as unhappy about it as you should be.
Full Transcript
- 00:25
And just when you’re counting the perks of being a
- 00:28
widow. . .
- 00:28
. . . who walks through the door?
- 00:30
That’s right – your slightly undead husband. Now, we can imagine anyone being shocked by
- 00:40
this turn of events. . .
- 00:41
. . .but our heroine Louise actually takes it one step further.
- 00:45
So, why did she die at the sight of her husband? Could it have been strictly a physiological
- 00:51
response? She did have a heart condition. . .
- 00:55
. . .so seeing a “ghost” might have been all it took to send her over the edge.
- 01:01
Or maybe she just couldn’t go back to her old
- 01:03
life. . .
- 01:04
. . .and checking out was her only option.
- 01:07
Seems a little extreme. . .
- 01:08
. . .but she did say she was looking forward to living for herself. . .
- 01:12
. . .and escaping the “powerful will bending hers”. . .
- 01:16
. . .so maybe the idea of returning to a submissive life. . .
- 01:19
. . .was something she just couldn’t handle. Was the author, Kate Chopin, trying to make
- 01:25
a point, killing off Louise. . .
- 01:26
. . .to say that death was actually preferable. . .
- 01:29
. . .to living a life as a powerless wife? Or maybe Louise’s guilt got the better of
- 01:34
her. . .
- 01:35
. . .and she died of shame. She just couldn’t face her husband after
- 01:38
her positive reaction to his “death”. So, why did Louise kick the bucket?
- 01:43
Did a bad heart let her down. . .
- 01:47
. . .was she unwilling to go back to her former life. . .
- 01:50
. . .or did guilt and shame do her in? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
Related Videos
This video defines utopias and dystopias, and investigates how a utopia might become a dystopia. Can a seemingly perfect world actually be a dystop...
We may all be fools when it comes to love, but thankfully none of us will accidentally switch places with our twin brother and fall in love with ou...
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...
Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.