Most authors write their material based on their views of certain situations and issues that are prevalent in that specific time period.  The issue of feminism began to peak in the mid 1800's and is still very significant and prominent today, almost 200 years later.  People's perspectives and political views of feminism are all over the spectrum which makes it difficult to help alleviate some of the feminist issues legislatively; however, it makes writing short stories and academic journals much easier and more relevant to what everyone is experiencing in the real world.  By looking at the short story, The Story of an Hour, one could argue that it agrees with and supports the stereotypical expectations of women discussed in the academic journal, Passions of the First Wave Feminists.  We can see through the characteristics of "crushingly earnest", the concern of toxic love and the "sexually repressed" feeling that women in the 1980's, especially Louise Mallard, have little to no freedom (Magarey).  Women are not treated the same as men which is why feminism and equal treatment is such an issue in the 1800's and continued into today's society.

First of all, in The Story of an Hour, the introductory sentence gives a negative perspective of Louise Mallard.  It starts off giving the reader the information to infer that Mrs. Mallard is frail and not healthy enough to take care of herself, "[She] was afflicted with a heart trouble" (Chopin 223).  Why is that the very first sentence has to automatically portray women as weaker than men, whether it be health related or through their personal character traits?  In the Academic Journal, Passions of First Wave Feminists, the author, Susan Magarey, discusses the stereotypical expectations of women and in this moment, Louise follows those labels to a tee.  As the story continues, she steps out of these limits and becomes an independent women who is looking forward to her new, temporary liberty and authority.

Next, Passions of First World Feminists, argues about this "sexual double standard" that people have continued to portray for nearly 200 years.  I believe that this phrase is extremely relevant in almost all aspects of society then and now.  We continue to use someone's gender almost as an excuse for why or why not the way that person acts is acceptable.  Louise Mallard probably wouldn't be considered "crushingly earnest" in her day to day life before this situation occurred, but "earnest" is definitely the word I would use to describe Louise when she is alone, sitting in the chair, looking out at the rain and chirping sparrows (Magarey).  According an online dictionary, "earnest" is a noun meaning, "a serious and intent mental state" (Merriam-Webster's online dictionary).  This is exactly how Mrs. Mallard behaves when she has her head laying against the back of the chair, just gazing upon the sky and the nature around her in deep thought. "She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long" is a phrase that really stuck out to me in the midst of all this sorrow and loss; she is praying that her life will be long so she can make up for the freedom she lacked when she was married to Brently (Chopin 224).  By the end of the story, we learn that this new freedom doesn't last for long when her husband comes home from work, very much alive and unaware of the accident he was supposedly in.  This proves that sometimes our hopes and optimisms don't always work out the way we want them to in the end, which is a part of life and always keeps us guessing about what new curve ball will be thrown our way.  In another academic journal, Third Wave Feminism and the Need to Reweave the Nature/Cultural Duality, it challenges the idea of duality while still taking women embodiment into consideration.  While fantasizing about her new unrestricted lifestyle, Louise almost 'throws away' those stereotypical expectations of women and how they should behave; she truly experiments with duality and now has the self-reliance to "live for herself" (Chopin 224).  The Third Wave Feminism  article discusses how men embodied the characteristics of reason and freedom.  Deep in thought, Louise seems to have taken over the freedom quality that her husband left behind, "She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" (Chopin 223).  I think the use of the word breath is used very ironically here.  With this whole story talking about life, its importance and how fast it can change, including this phrase about "under her breath" is very symbolic of how a simple breath could be taken for granted in order to say a few minute words.

The final paragraph of this story is very surprising and unsettling.  Brently comes home after a day of work and Louise immediately drops dead of a heart disease "of the joy that kills" (Chopin 224).  Louise's heart disease most likely wasn't because of her bad eating habits or lack of exercise, I believe that her heart was filled with toxic love that caused it to be frail and give up at the mere sight that her "lover" had returned.  I also find it very ironic that Louise was almost celebrating her husband's death because of her new found freedom but in the end, she is the one who loses it all.

Most women are very much considered "sexually repressed" because men are 'supposed' to be the ones who are prominently sexual and erotic.  But as society is evolving, more and more people are learning that women, too, have needs and wants and they can be stimulating if they wish.  "A kind or cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination", is how Louise describes the sexual intentions of her and her husband (Chopin 224).  Why does Mrs. Mallard compare sexual relations to have either kind or cruel intentions?  In a marriage, the intentions should be to share a more interpersonal connection between each other and shouldn't be kind nor cruel, but something special both people in the relationship share.  Also, why does she describe the sex life of her and her husband to a crime?  Both peoples' needs have to be addressed and it should not be a one way street that only benefits one.  Louise expresses that she did love her husband, Brently, but only sometimes and "often she had not" (Chopin 224).  What were the reasons why she did not love her husband, and were they so bad that she had to include that piece of information in this story?  It seems as though she felt that she was 'stuck' in this marriage.  Maybe when Louise exclaims the word 'free' over and over it isn't that she has the liberty to act any way that she wants, but meaning that she is no longer under Brently's hold.  

Also, men are normally the one to initiate a "dirty" conversation that they want the woman to partake in, but a woman would feel uncomfortable introducing it herself.  In addition, men are more likely to talk about inappropriate topics in a group and compare their sexual actions.  I feel this is the opposite for woman and their usual conversational topics and would be frowned upon if someone overheard a conversation like that taking place. This relates to a quote in The Story of an Hour where Louise is talking about her and Brently's sexual relationship, "men   believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" (Chopin 224).  It is uncommon for women to explore their sexuality without being considered a "slut", but if the roles were reversed, the man wouldn't have any social repercussions.  Likewise, the media today does not help this issue.  When a sexual scene in a movie appears, it is almost always a man instigating the sexual action and the woman yielding or following along in the man's actions or intentions.  It shouldn't be the responsibility of one person to take the lead and initiate the action, it should be a mutual, collective desire by both parties.

In conclusion, The Story of an Hour, argues that it agrees with the stereotypical expectations of women discussed in the academic journal, Passions of the First Wave Feminists.  We can see through the characteristics of "crushingly earnest", toxic love and "sexually repressed" that women in the 1980's, especially Louise Mallard, have little to no freedom to behave the way they wish or deserve.   

