黑龙江外国语学院 2012-2013 学年 第 1 学期Term 1 2012-20123Academic Year Heilongjiang International University 第 1 页 共 6 页A Study into Feminist Consciousness ofThe Story of an HourAbstract：According to interpretation of the social background of the American South at the end of the 19th century and the Kate Chopins life experience in the illustration of the text and analyze the historical background of the leading roles self consciousness, uncovering American society ignored the value of women and the shackles of a free spirit. With the help of the analysis of the writing technique, we can better understand the theme of freedom and death in the story.Key words: Womens consciousness; Kate Chopin; The Story of an HourI. IntroductionKate Chopin is one of Americans most important women writers of the 19th century. His representative work “Awakening” is recognized for performance pioneer of feminist thought. “The Story of an Hour,” published in 1894, is a boutique in Chopins short story. In this novel, a young woman learned that her husband died in a railway accident. She wept returned to the room. Slowly, she began to realize their soul changes: “she whispered, free, free, free! . she know in spent a long time after the pain, she will complete her own.” Then, without warning, she did not take the trains husband, open the door came in. When she saw him, her heart stops beating. Around her everyone thinks she was happy will like this. Is she really happy to hear the news that her husband is dead? This article is a feminist novel. Male chauvinist led to sexual inequality, feminism advocates also should avoid too extreme tendency (such as novel transcendence of male fantasy). We even western social feminism and the ultimate goal of equality for all (real sense of equality). Not any party surpassed and superior. II. The social background of Feminist Consciousness黑龙江外国语学院 2012-2013 学年 第 1 学期Term 1 2012-20123Academic Year Heilongjiang International University 第 2 页 共 6 页Overall, the United States in the 19th century, legal, religious and traditional practices strict restrictions on women, especially Southern womens rights. They could not vote, cannot make their voices heard in the political sphere; most of the work refused to hire female staff, the majority of women can only perform household chores; proportion of educated women is far lower than that of men. Ethical, Southern women are more bound and repressed. According to Southern tradition, women are the incarnation of virtue. They are full of compassion, tolerance, patience, loyalty obedience. They are bound in the moral paradigm throne, worshiped by others. For married women, the society has given them more bondage. For example: many states expressly provide that married women have no right to sign contracts, and cannot own property, cannot even dispose of their own income. Whatever the reason, if the couple divorce, the wife cannot get custody of the children. The perfect wife should be submissive, gentle, pious, and therefore not suitable for the complex and volatile political and business, the best choice is a wife, mother. From the mid-19th century, American society has experienced ethnic conflicts, the Civil War, the abolition of slavery and the highly developed capitalist economy, peoples thinking has also happened unprecedented transformation. The women began questioning traditional practices imposed on the role of a woman, issued a challenge to the values of the patriarchal society. Northern women first began to fight for equal rights to work, education. They believe that women and men should be equal access to political, economic, religious status, which completely changed the ideological built in the male dominated society. The Civil War and the abolition of slavery greatly changed peoples ideology, the northern growing feminist movement gradually penetrated into the political and economic activities in the South, Southern women also began to demand work and education. They called for social reform, to get rid of the shackles of womens stereotypes in a patriarchal society, against the rules and prohibitions imposed by society. More and more women with high social status are knocking at the door to the career which a man who once ruled. Women began to move out of the shadow of the man, in all aspects of social life as an independent individual.Kate Chopin is a writer of this era. Of course, her feminist ideology is inextricably linked with her family environment. She was born in 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri. His father is Irish 黑龙江外国语学院 2012-2013 学年 第 1 学期Term 1 2012-20123Academic Year Heilongjiang International University 第 3 页 共 6 页descent and his mother was French descent. When she was five years old, his father died in an accident when traveling. Since then, the young Kate, who lived with a widowed mother, a grandmother and her grandmother. Their wisdom, independent and strong, had a tremendous impact for the Kate character and f