SFL of Short Story: The Story of an Hour

Submitted By
Anmol Khalid
Ayesha Farooq
Ayesha Ghaffar
Misbah Mubeen
Saima Hayat

Submitted To
Dr. Fakhira Riaz

Fattima Jinnah University for Women

Date :
Introduction

In SFL of “The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin”, we analyzed its (Field) or Ideational Meta
Function in which general and specific field are included, and we analyzed its Vocabulary and
further two types of it like Specialized and Non Specialized Vocabulary.

In Interpersonal Meta Function (Tenor), power relations, formality and closeness are analyzed
and in Textual Meta Function (Mode), narration, description, background and writer’s approach
is judged.

Field

General Field and specific Field

The general field of this story is literature and its specific field is prose that can be further
divided into subfield which is short story. By focusing on the vocabulary used in this story, we
infer that it is very much related with feminist literature of Kate Chopin’s era.

After the analysis of vocabulary, we have the theme of freedom, independence, marriage and
identity. Chopin deals with the issues of female self-discovery and identity. In the late 19th
century, much of American society held to the deep-seated belief that women were inferior to
and should remain dependent upon husbands and other male figures. On the whole, women were
expected to accommodate their husbands by cooking, cleaning, and generally maintaining the
household. Any employment available to them offered wages significantly less than what men
earned, and women were expected to conduct their lives according to their husbands’ wishes.
Most women had little or no financial or other independence, as they (and their finances) were
essentially passed from their fathers to their husbands upon marriage. . At the same time, the
second half of the 19th century saw the rise of the first organized women’s rights movements,
marked most notably by the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.

“The Story of An Hour” was published in 1884, only one year after the first U.S. state granted
women the right to vote, but still almost three decades before women would get the federal right
to vote through the 19th amendment in 1919.
Freedom would be of great concern to Chopin, especially considering she is thought to be one of
the earliest forerunners of modern feminism. , “The Story of an Hour” revolves around the idea
of female independence and its obstacles. The story is especially concerned with examining how
a nineteenth-century woman was expected to behave in highly emotional circumstances. Louise
Mallard heart condition renders her physically weak, further enforcing the time period’s
prevailing sentiment that women should remain passive and unexcited. At the same time, one
might argue that it is the diagnosis of the heart condition itself that enforces a kind of weakness
on Louise based on the assumptions about women inherent in the diagnosis.

More particularly, though, through the sudden death of Louise’s husband in an accident, the
story portrays a woman on the cusp of true independence in the only way that was truly available
to women at the time: through the death of a wealthy husband, leaving the woman with her own
fortune and no need to remarry to maintain her station in life. And so, despite her real grief at her
husband’s unexpected death, Louise feels intense joy at the exceedingly rare prospect being
granted to her as a woman: the chance to be “free, free.”

And yet, the story also implies the way that society, and perhaps even the world itself, resists any
woman having such freedom. It does so most obviously through its literal shock ending, in
which Louise’s husband turns out not to have been in the accident after all and walks through the
front door, a revelation that stops Louise’s heart. But the story also makes this implication more
subtly, as when Louise’s sister worries that Louise is making herself sick by remaining isolated
in her room (though in truth Louise is reveling in her freedom). Both men and women of the
society around Louise intervene in her life, ultimately proving that her freedom is impossible to
hold.

Chopin suggests that all marriages, even the kindest ones, are inherently oppressive. Louise, who
readily admits that her husband was kind and loving, nonetheless feels joy when she believes that
he has died. Her reaction doesn’t suggest any malice, and Louise knows that she’ll cry at Brently
funeral. However, despite the love between husband and wife, Louise views Brantley’s death as
a release from oppression. She never names a specific way in which Brently oppressed her,
hinting instead that marriage in general suppresses both women and men. She even seems to
suggest that she oppressed Brently just as much as he oppressed her. Louise’s epiphany in which
these thoughts parade through her mind reveals the inherent oppressiveness of all marriages,
which by their nature rob people of their independence.

Chopin is suggesting (in the story) that Mrs. Mallard has felt trapped in her marriage. This idea
of being trapped is noticeable after Mrs. Mallard finds out her husband is dead and the narrator
tells the reader that ‘there would be no powerful will bending hers.’ This would explain Mrs.
Mallard’s feelings of joy after her initial grief on hearing that her husband (as far as she is aware)
has died. It may also be that by writing the story when she did (1894), Chopin is holding a mirror
up to society to highlight the fact that a lot of women felt trapped inside their marriages, as if
they, by getting married, had lost their identity and freedom. The idea of a new found
independence for Mrs. Mallard is also noticeable while she is upstairs sitting in the room crying.
Chopin tells the reader that Mrs. Mallard could see ‘the tops of trees that were all aquiver with
the new spring of life.’ This line may be important as usually spring would be associated with a
new beginning. It is quite possible that Chopin is suggesting that Mrs. Mallard’s life is to begin
again, now that she is no longer tied down to a marriage. . The fact that the window is open in
the room is also symbolically important as it suggests a new found sense of freedom for Mrs.
Mallard. She can hear the peddler and birds singing outside. Again this is significant as it
suggests a new world awaits Mrs. Mallard.

One of the most interesting things about the story and something that plays on the theme of
identity is the fact that the reader learns (through Josephine), Mrs. Mallard’s first name (Louise).
Though this may appear to be insignificant it is important as it suggests that Mrs. Mallard
(symbolically) has taken on a new role in her life after hearing that her husband is dead. No
longer is she confined, trapped or restricted inside a marriage (no longer Mrs.), rather she is free
to express herself now that (she thinks) Brently is dead. Previous to Josephine calling Mrs.
Mallard by her first name, the reader had, by Chopin using the title Mrs., associated Mrs.
Mallard with marriage. No longer is this the case, now that the reader is aware of Mrs. Mallard’s
first name. It is also possible that Chopin is suggesting that women lose their identity or
individuality when they get married and are in essence, dominated by the male. By telling the
reader Mrs. Mallard’s first name Chopin may also be suggesting that a new found independence
exists for Mrs. Mallard, again she is no longer defined by marriage.
. She is no longer defined by or trapped within what many critics suggest has been an oppressive
marriage. It may also be significant that Chopin tells the reader that ‘the delicious breath of
rain was in the air.’ It is possible that Chopin is suggesting that after rain, comes sun which in
turn would symbolically suggest a new freedom for Mrs. Mallard. The ending of the story may
also be significant as it is possible that Chopin is introducing irony into the story. When Mrs.
Mallard discovers that her husband isn’t dead the reader learns that she dies of a heart attack,
Chopin telling the reader that ‘she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills.’ It is more likely
that rather than dying from the joy of seeing her husband again, Mrs. Mallard has died of shock.
A shock that was brought on by the realization that the new freedom and independence that she
had previously felt when she believed her husband was dead is now no longer within her reach.

Tenor

According to Martin (1992) “Tenor is the negotiation of social relationship among participants”.
Tenor is the projection of interpersonal meaning which means meaning as a form of action,
speaker or writer doing something to the listener or reader by means of language. It means that it
deals with the interrelationship level between the writer and the characters in the text, the writer
and the reader and between the characters themselves. Those relationships can be either equal or
unequal, formal or informal and close, distant or neutral .

Classification of Tenor in Story “The Story of an Hour”

The text of this story “The Story of an Hour” belongs to literary text that is short story. Literary
text has two meanings within it: the first and the second meaning. In order to obtain the second
meaning, it is necessary to figure out the first meaning of the text. In this text, the first meaning
lies inside the text. Meanwhile, the second meaning lies outside the text. This analysis held to
describe the Tenor in the text. Therefore, the analysis will be divided into two parts: the first is
the Tenor inside text, and the second is the Tenor outside the text. The first part will describe
the relation between a woman named as Louise Mallard, her husband Brently Mallard, Louise’s
sister Josephine and Brently’s friend Richard . The second analysis will discuss the relation
between the writer, the readers, and the theme obtained from the first analysis. The Tenor inside
the text can be obtained from the analysis of the conversation between the characters in the story.

ii. Tenor inside the text (Characters and their relationships)

Unequal and Formal relationships

The characters inside the story are the Louise Mallard, her husband Brently Mallard, her sister
Josephine and Brently’s friend Richard. Louise Mallard and Brently Mallard have a relationship
of husband and wife, which seems to be unequal, due to the fact that when she heard the news of
her husband’s death she was secretly happy inside because she was free now. She cherished her
new found independence even more than her love. So this suggests that their relation is not equal
one. Might be her husband is quite oppressing towards her. She remembers him as a kinds and
loving man but it seems like she had merely been married to him this might be reason that made
him an oppressive factor in her life.

The relation between Louise Mallard and Richard, her husband’s friend as we can guess is
formal and unequal as they have no conversation in the story. Although he was careful towards
Louise Mallard.

Equal and informal relationships

The relation between Louise Mallard and Josephine seems to be equal and informal, as they both
are sisters. This is quite evident when Louise Mallard opens door for her sister Josephine when
she requests her to open and she was the one who informs Louise about Brently’s death.
Josephine uses the vocative expression “Louise “ and “you” which shows a close relationship
between them. As in the following lines: “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door—you will
make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.”

Relationship between Brently and Richard should be obviously an informal and equal as friends
but there is no conversation between Brently Mallard and his friend Richard since they never
meet each other in the story except at the end.

ii. Tenor outside the text

Equal relationship
The interpersonal meaning outside the text can be obtained from the analysis of the writer and
the Themes. There is an equal relation between characters outside the text. The characters
outside the text consist of the writer and the theme of the story. The writer is Kate Chopin as the
writer of the story and the theme of the story are of freedom, independence and marriage. The
relation between the writer and the theme is equal. It means that the writer wants to expose the
theme in the form of information. The writer use of the woman in the story is the representative
of every woman, or wife of that society. The clear expressions to the theme show that the writer
and the theme are equal.

Equal and neutral relationship

Finally, the relationship between writer and readers is equal and neutral. Only writer and reader
know that Mrs. Mallard had already experienced a huge joy earlier along with knowledge of a
lost husband and the free life out ahead of her. The use of an omniscient third person narrator
enables Kate Chopin to tell a complete story that is not limited to the protagonist point of view.
This is a key because the opening of the story begins with us readers knowing something Mrs.
Mallard does not and because the story ends after Mrs. Mallard has already died. Through this
analysis I tried to describe the Tenor in the short story, entitled “The Story of an Hour.”

Textual Metafunction (Mode)

Mode is defined as what part the language is playing in the text, it describes the way language is
being used including the medium that is written or spoken. It specifically refers to “the function
of the text in the event, including its genre, or rhetorical mode, as narrative. This variable
determines the role and function of language in a particular situation.

Form of discourse:
‘The story of an hour’ is in written form and is written by Kate Chopin. The story documents
the complicated reaction of Louise Mallard who is the protagonist of the story, upon hearing of
her husband sudden death. The story consists of about one thousand words.
Narration:
The story is narrated by third person (omniscient) and through the use of third person Chopin is
able to tell the complete story as it is not limited to protagonist point of view. And it is evident
through the opening of story which begins with something that readers know but Mrs. Mallard
doesn’t know and the story ends after Mrs. Mallard has already died. The use of third person also
portrays Mrs. Mallard as sympathetic and understandable. The narrator seems to be excusing her
behavior and also providing reasoning for it. For example through the description of the lines:

“There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did
not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching
toward her through the sounds, the scents, and the color that filled the air.”

It is depicted that it is not Mrs. Mallard fault that she has such feelings that were chasing her
because she is feeling helpless, passive and powerless and could not resist them and she is
helpless under the weight of human truths. It is shown that she is glad on her husband death
however, that freedom was scary for her at first but at the end she felt excited about it. If it was
narrated by first then we might have thought of Mrs. Mallard as selfish and self centered woman
and believe that she didn’t love her husband.

Description:
“The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin presents the readers with a woman who is clearly
delighted that her husband has died. This is expressed through the language that is used to
describe Louise’s emotions as she swings between lack of feeling and extreme joy at her new
found freedom, while describing the Louise emotions the narrator uses vibrant and powerful
words. And the fact that she is “afflicted with a heart trouble” becomes an ironic reality, for
Louise’s “heart trouble” in the beginning of the story is that she feels emotionally dissatisfied in
her marriage. When her husband is believed to have been killed in a train accident, her friends
cautiously inform her, assuming that she will be shocked. The news, however, brings her tears of
release rather than of grief. She is energized by her new situation. But when Brently Mallard
suddenly returns home, she dies. However, Mrs. Mallard’s death is both literal and symbolic.
Her freedom has been won and lost in hour. Through the description of the story it can be
inferred that for Chopin Mrs. Mallard represents numerous women who silently bear the feelings
of being trapped in unhappy marriages but whose escapes could be momentary at best.
Stylistic techniques:
In “The Story of an Hour,” Chopin uses specific structural and stylistic techniques to the increase
the excitement of the hour. The structure Chopin has chosen for this story fits for its subject
matter perfectly. The story is short, made up of a series of short paragraphs, many of which
consist of just two or three sentences. Similarly, the story covers only life from the moment she
learns of her husband’s death to the moment he unexpectedly returns alive. The short and dense
structure of story reflects the intense hour which Louise spent thinking about her freedom. And
just as she is completely immersed in her wild thoughts, we are also immersed along with her in
this brief period of time. This story can be read quickly, but the impact it makes is powerful.
Chopin surprises us first with Louise’s excited reaction when she first murmurs “free” to herself.
She shocks us again at the conclusion when she dies upon her husband’s return.
The “heart disease” mentioned at the end of the story echoes the “heart trouble” discussed at the
beginning, intensifying the twist ending and bringing the story to a satisfying close.
Because such a short story leaves no room for background information, flashbacks, or excessive
speculation,

Repetition of words phrases and sentences:

Chopin succeeds in making every sentence important by employing an almost poetic writing
style. She uses repetition to highlight important points, such as when she repeats the
word open throughout the story to emphasize the freedom of Louise’s new life. She has repeated
the word free over and over again as well, which is one of the few words Louise actually speaks
aloud in the story and indicates how much she cherishes her new found freedom. Besides
repeating words, Chopin also repeats phrases and sentence structures to highlight important
points. For example, Chopin writes, “She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was
only yesterday that she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.” The identical
phrasing of the second half of each sentence reveals how drastically Louise’s life has changed—
she once shuddered at the thought of a long life, but now she prays for it.

Alliteration:
Chopin makes the prose of the story beautiful by using alliteration and internal rhymes. For
example, Josephine “revealed in half concealing” when she tells Louise the news, and Brently
reappears “composedly carrying” his belongings. All of Chopin’s stylistic and structural
techniques combine to make this very short story powerful.

Kate Chopin pessimistic approach:

The mood in the story of an hour is essentially pessimistic this can be shown through the
perspective of Feminism and gender literacy in the story. It evident from the beginning of the
story when we do not find Mrs. Mallard's first name until after her husband's death. This shows
that she was not important enough to warrant a first name until she was no longer dependent
upon her husband. The description of woman's repression is evident when Chopin gives us the
reason for Mrs. Mallard's “monstrous joy”. "There would be now 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." Women in Victorian times did what they were told by their
husband's and were submissive and did not challenge them in any way. Through the character
of Louise Mallard, we are able to see the social repression that women felt at the time. They
were oppressed by their husbands, even though they were loved by them.

Through contrasting language and sentence structures to reveal the emotions of Louise, the
reader is able to enter her wild mind just as easily if her every thought was described in an
itemized list. The reader is forced to ignore the outside world, mostly because its description
offers nothing remarkable, and focus on her inner-life, which depicts a sad portrait of marriage,
indeed.

Conclusion

It is concluded that this story “ The Story of an Hour “ which is from the field of literature and its
specific field and genre is prose, short story . Its vocabulary shows writer approach towards
feminism, freedom and oppressive relationship of two partners who consider themselves kind to
each other. Mrs. Mallard feel a sudden shock after the news of her husband’s death in accident
and she locks herself in the room but soon she overcomes her grief and felt happy and free. This
change in feelings and emotions show a glimpse of their un equal and formal relationship
between husband and wife. This story is a narration by third person.