Deictic Elements in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour: A Cognitive Poetics/Stylistic Perspective

By Sami Breem POBox 1 ! English Department "slamic #niversity$ %a&a$ Palestine s'reem(i)ga&a*e+)

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" " :%& -. ,% + ( * ) % $%'&$"! &"# > ?$3 ; =<9:0 678 $ &"/%0% 345 ( % 12% /%0 08 D 3E8 C ABBA /0 @$3 "8 - $%'&$"! &"# $3 LE -; K#> J0=5 =<I 9:0G * HABBF T%0:-; K# S=. R* HABBA Q MP O MN@ /0 3&8 ;:% LUJ V3 $3 0-G U8 ( $3 :0G- YG " GW< : /%0 X48 C H( V @GW< ] -\ * 8D [ ; /J0G-8 <C ;"" Z \8D_ %[0 -3 ^-0?- J0 G : U /%0 -. < -b8 aW0 * 17 ^-0? $3 `8 * J% /d3. !"# >c% $ &"/%0 $3 ;K# ABS,-AC,: This paper aims to explore Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour from a cognitive poetics/stylistics perspective. The analysis emphasizes an integration of language and literature and draws upon theories developed in the general field of cognitive poetics/stylistics ( toc!well "##"$ %avins and teen "##&'. (or the purposes of this research) using toc!wells model of *eictic hift Theory ( toc!well "##": +,-+.') the analysis will investigate Chopin/s use of different types of deictic expressions and shows how such use guides the reader to 0e involved in the text world(s') leading to a 0etter understanding/exploration of the characters and themes. The analysis

reveals how the protagonist) 1rs. 1allard) searches for identity) freedom and the 0right future after the hus0ands death. This paper attempts to explore the text world in which a feminist character challenges the traditional view of marriage/love in a male-dominated society. The discussion of results and the conclusion shows how traditional o0servations a0out the text com0ined with an analysis of deixis helps readers to create the text world of the story. 1 "ntro+)ction Kate Chopin (Katherine 2(laherty' was 0orn on (e0ruary 3) 43,#) Culley (4.56: vii'. he 0egan writing late in her life. 7er first novel) At Fault was pu0lished in 43.#. 8t was followed 0y two collections of short stories: Bayou Folk in 43.+ and Arcadia in 4.35. 9fter that Chopin wor!ed on a third collection) A Vocation and a Voice (Toth 4..4' which included wor!s previously re:ected 0y magazine pu0lishers who felt the wor! dealt too explicitly with love) sex) and marriage. Chopin/s most famous short story The Story of an Hour is included in this collection. The centre of action in the tory is an ill woman who learns of her hus0and/s accidental death. The story examines the woman/s reaction to her sudden and unexpected independence/freedom and ends surprisingly when she discovers her hus0and is actually alive. 7er novel The Awakening) now widely read) appeared in 43... he wrote stories) novels) s!etches) and essays which had appeared in the popular and literary magazines of the period. he died in 4.#+.

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(ox-%enovese (4...' comments on Chopin as a modernist writer: he was very important as one of the earliest examples of modernism in the ;nited tates< he was a pre-eminent stylist and she was as much interested<in how you told the story as the story itself. 8n that sense= perspective) point of view) craft) use of imagery) multiple perspectives= this legacy of appearance in reality which can 0e seen to come somewhat out of the >ew 2rleans experience that things are not always what they seem and they seem different to different players. 9ll of these then formed her style<one reason that some of her stories were very short was 0ecause she was self-consciously experimenting with stylistic concerns every 0it as much as thematic ones. Chopins well-!nown piece of short fiction) The Story of an Hour) appeared in 43.+ (1eyer 4..6: 4"-4+'. Chopin can 0e seen as a feminist writer who ?uestions women issues of her time: hus0and-wife relationship) marriage) love) individuality and freedom. 9s a result) her wor!s were met with widespread criticism during and after her life. @eing a woman Kate Chopin saw life instinctively in terms of the individual. he too! a direct personal) immediate interest in the intimate personal affairs of 1rs. 1allard/s experience and her changing moods. The Story of an Hour deals with marriage that is out of 0alance= a wife who wishes to 0e free from this blind relationship. The story is a0out 1rs. 1allard (Aouise' who was afflicted with a heart trouble. 7er hus0and is supposed to have 0een !illed in a train accident. 7er reaction is not as expected: She did not hear the story as many women have heard the

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same<. he goes up-stairs to her 0edroom where she sits in a comforta0le roomy armchair loo!ing out of the window) seeing the world around her and thin!ing of her past) present and future. *ifferent images are employed to descri0e the conflict inside 1rs. 1allard and the gradual discovery of herself to discover that what she wants and desires after her hus0ands death is: /free, free, freeB/ 9fter that: she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that o en window. he thin!s of the coming days: /!s" ring days and summer days, and allsorts of days that would be her own./ he has lived a 0eautiful dream for :ust an hour. uddenly) @rently 1allard is 0ac!. 7e has 0een far from the accident. 2n seeing him) Aouise has a heart attac! and she is dead. To all the characters around her: @rently 1allard) Cichards) Dosephine and the doctors) 1rs. 1allard had died of heart disease# of $oy that kills. To the reader) Chopin ma!es an excellent use of irony. The end is unexpected. 9ll characters expect her death to 0e the result of hearing the sad news of her hus0and/s death. and 0eautiful dreams. The story of an Hour is a third-person limited omniscient text. The narrator is non-participant and the story is told from different perspectives. The focus is on 1rs. 1allard who is the center of action in the story. The reader is invited to create the text-world(s' of the story. @eing a woman Kate he dies 0ecause she has lost her freedom

Chopin is a0le to see life instinctively in terms of the individual) ta!ing a direct personal) immediate interest in the intimate personal affairs of 1rs. 1allard/s experience and her changing moods. The reader- following 1rs. 1allard to her place near the window) getting into her mind) thoughts) feelings and emotions) her dreams and hopes for the future- would realize the sic!ening reality of women at that time. This study adopts a stylistic approach in which the researcher attempts to find a connection 0etween the findings of linguistic analysis and the responses of literary criticism. tylistics is one of the dominant trends to emerge in the study of literature during the twentieth century. 8ts roots originate in the ma:or literary movements that flourished in the first half of the century which include: practical criticism in @ritain) >ew Criticism in 9merica and Cussian (ormalism (@reem 4...'. everal studies state that stylistics is concerned with the study of style and view this approach as an integration of language and literature) Eiddowson (4.5,') Aeech and hort (4.34') Eales (4.3.') Carter and Aong (4..4' and Ferdon! ("##"'. The analysis in this paper adopts a cognitive poetics/stylistic approach) toc!well ("##"' and %avins and teen ("##&'. toc!well ("##": +' values cognitive poetics as a means of 0eing a0le to have a clear view of text and

context) circumstances and uses) !nowledge and 0eliefs. Cognitive poetics focuses on 0oth the linguistic features of the text com0ined with the readers 0ac!ground !nowledge. The analysis in this paper com0ines a traditional/contextual account with linguistic support through an analysis of deixis and deictic shift theory. This paper examines the wor!ing of deixis in Kate Chopin/s The Story of an Hour. 8t also aims to show how the author/s employment of different deictic elements helps the reader to understand the different perspectives in the text) mainly that of the protagonist (1rs. 1allard' in addition to that of the narrator/author in the light of other contextual aspects which are related to Chopin as a feminist. . Deixis an+ Deictic Shi/t ,heory Eales (4.3.: 44"' states that deixis is Gfrom the %K /pointing/ or /showing/) +eixis in %&'()&ST&*S refers generally to all those features of language which orientate or Hanchor our utterances in the context of proximity of space<and of time<relative to the spea!ers viewpoint.G (urthermore) the importance of deixis to encounter a stylistic analysis of literary texts has 0een the concern of many studies) (owler (4.34') Aeech and hort (4.34') Aevinson (4.3&') impson (4..&') *uchan et al (4..,') hort (4..6') Culler (4..5') toc!well ("##"' and %avins and teen ("##&'. GThe use of

deixis is thus one of the ways in which writers persuade readers to imagine a fictional world when they read poems) novels and playsG) hort (4..6: 4##'. (or the purposes of the cognitive poetics analysis in this paper) deixis and deictic shift theory model is adapted from toc!well ("##": +,-+.'. toc!well/s deixis categories are: Ierceptual deixis patial deixis Temporal deixis Celational deixis Textual deixis Compositional deixis

7ere is a summary of each category: Percept)al +eixis: personal pronouns /8/me/you/they/it/$ demonstratives /these/those$ definite articles) definite reference /the man/$ mental states /thin!ing) 0elieving/ Spatial +eixis: pointing expressions locating the deictic center in place) spatial adver0s /here/there/) /near0y/far a way/$ locatives /in the valley/)

/out of 9frica/$ demonstratives /this/that/$ ver0s of motion /come/go/) /0ring/ta!e/. ,emporal +eixis: expressions that locate the deictic center in time) temporal adver0s /today/yesterday/soon/later/$ locatives /in my youth/) /after three wee!s/$ tense and aspect. -elational +eixis: expressions referring to social viewpoint and relative situations of authors) narrators) characters) and readers) including modality and expressions of point of view and focalization$ naming and address conventions /social deixis/$ evaluative word-choice. ,ext)al +eixis: expressions foregrounding the textuality of the text) chapter titles/paragraphing$ co-reference to other parts of the text) reference to the text itself or the act of production$ reference to other texts /intertextuality/$ poetic features) speech presentation. Compositional +eixis: aspects of the text that manifest the generic type or literary conventions availa0le to the reader. tylistic choices encode a deictic relationship 0etween author and literary reader. toc!well (+.' concludes his outline of the a0ove deixis categories: 8t is important to state that even single words) expressions and sentences can display all of these facets of deixis. They are only determina0le as deixis) of course) if they are perceived as such 0y the reader) if they are seen as anchoring the various entity-roles in participatory relationships.

@ecause occurrences of deictic expressions are dependent on context) reading a literary text involves a process of contextcreation in order to follow the anchor-points of all these deictic expressions. Ceading is creative in this sense of using the text to construct a cognitively negotia0le world) and the process is dynamic and constantly shifting. toc!well values the deictic shift theory (* T' as an effective approach to cognitive deixis. 9 summary of its !ey concept is as follows: Deictic Shi/t ,heory: refers to the perception of the reader getting inside a literary text ta!ing a cognitive stance within the mentally constructed world of the text. GThis imaginative capacity allows the reader to understand pro:ected deictic expressions relative to the shifted deictic center (narrator) author) character) reader'. hifting deictic centers is a ma:or explanatory concept to account for the perception and creation of coherence in the text.G Deictic /iel+s: are composed of expressions that are: perceptual) spatial) temporal) relational) textual and compositional in nature. The literary text may consist of one or more deictic fields. Deictic center: Jach deictic field has a deictic center which can 0e a narrator) author) character or reader.

Deictic shi/t: a deictic shift occurs when) through the use of deixis) the author shifts focus from) for example) the narrator to a location) then to a character or the extra-fictional world of author.

P)shes: deictic shifts towards the inside world of the text (characters) time) place'

Pops: deictic shifts towards the outside word of the text (narrators) authors) readers'.

0 The Story of an Hour (or easy reference) the full text is reproduced and sentences num0ered: (4' Knowing that 1rs. 1allard was afflicted with a heart trou0le) great care was ta!en to 0rea! to her as gently as possi0le the news of her hus0and/s death. ("' 8t was her sister Dosephine who told her) in 0ro!en sentences$ veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. (&' 7er hus0and/s friend Cichards was there) too) near her. (+' 8t was he who had 0een in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received) with @rently 1allard/s name leading the list of G!illed.G (,' 7e had only ta!en the time to assure himself of its truth 0y a second telegram) and had hastened to forestall any less careful) less tender friend in 0earing the sad message. (6' he did not hear the story as many women have heard the same) with a paralyzed ina0ility to accept its significance. (5' he wept at once) with sudden) wild a0andonment) in her sister/s arms. (3' Ehen the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. (.' he would have no one follow her. (4#' There stood) facing the open window) a comforta0le) roomy armchair. (44' 8nto this she san!) pressed down 0y a physical exhaustion that haunted her 0ody and seemed to reach into her soul.

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(4"' he could see in the open s?uare 0efore her house the tops of trees that were all a?uiver with the new spring life. (4&' The delicious 0reath of rain was in the air. (4+' 8n the street 0elow a peddler was crying his wares. (4,' The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly) and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. (46' There were patches of 0lue s!y showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one a0ove the other in the west facing her window. (45' he sat with her head thrown 0ac! upon the cushion of the chair) ?uite motionless) except when a so0 came up into her throat and shoo! her) as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to so0 in its dreams. (43' he was young) with a fair) calm face) whose lines 0espo!e repression and even a certain strength. (4.' @ut now there was a dull stare in her eyes) whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of 0lue s!y. ("#' 8t was not a glance of reflection) 0ut rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought. ("4' There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it) fearfully. (""' Ehat was itK ("&' he did not !now$ it was too su0tle and elusive to name. ("+' @ut she felt it) creeping out of the s!y) reaching toward her through the sounds) the scents) the color that filled the air. (",' >ow her 0osom rose and fell tumultuously. ("6' he was 0eginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her) and she was striving to 0eat it 0ac! with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have 0een. ("5' Ehen she a0andoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. ("3' he said it over and over under her 0reath: Gfree) free) freeBG (".' The vacant stare and the loo! of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. (&#' They stayed !een and 0right. (&4' 7er pulses 0eat fast) and the coursing 0lood warmed and relaxed every inch of her 0ody. (&"' he did not stop to as! if it were or were not a monstrous :oy that held her. (&&' 9 clear and exalted perception ena0led her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.

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(&+' he !new that she would weep again when she saw the !ind) tender hands folded in death$ the face that had never loo!ed save with love upon her) fixed and gray and dead. (&,' @ut she saw 0eyond that 0itter moment a long procession of years to come that would 0elong to her a0solutely. (&6' 9nd she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. (&5' There would 0e no one to live for during those coming years$ she would live for herself. (&3' There would 0e no powerful will 0ending hers in that 0lind persistence with which men and women 0elieve they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. (+#' 9 !ind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she loo!ed upon it in that 0rief moment of illumination. (+4' 9nd yet she had loved him--sometimes. (+"' 2ften she had not. (+&' Ehat did it matterB (++' Ehat could love) the unsolved mystery) count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her 0eingB (+,' G(reeB @ody and soul freeBG she !ept whispering. (+6' Dosephine was !neeling 0efore the closed door with her lips to the !eyhole) imploring for admission. (+5' GAouise) open the doorB 8 0eg) open the door--you will ma!e yourself ill. Ehat are you doing AouiseK (or heaven/s sa!e open the door.G (+3' G%o away. 8 am not ma!ing myself ill.G (+.' >o$ she was drin!ing in a very elixir of life through that open window. (,#' 7er fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. (,4' pring days) and summer days) and all sorts of days that would 0e her own. (,"' he 0reathed a ?uic! prayer that life might 0e long. (,&' 8t was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might 0e long. (,+' he arose at length and opened the door to her sister/s importunities. (,,' There was a feverish triumph in her eyes) and she carried herself unwittingly li!e a goddess of Fictory. (,6' he clasped her sister/s waist) and together they descended the stairs. (,5' Cichards stood waiting for them at the 0ottom.

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(,3' ome one was opening the front door with a latch!ey. (,.' 8t was @rently 1allard who entered) a little travel-stained) composedly carrying his grip-sac! and um0rella. (6#' 7e had 0een far from the scene of accident) and did not even !now there had 0een one. (64' 7e stood amazed at Dosephine/s piercing cry$ at Cichards/ ?uic! motion to screen him from the view of his wife. (6"' @ut Cichards was too late. (6&' Ehen the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-- of :oy that !ills. The next section aims to explore the wor!ing of deixis in The Story of an Hour. 1 Cognitive poetics analysis The Story of an Hour is a third-person narrative in which 1rs. 1allard is the center of action. The non-participant narrator provides an access to 1rs. 1allard/s world: medical condition) marriage) relationship with hus0and) love) freedom. 8n other words) the narrator descri0es 1rs. 1allard/s thoughts) feelings) perceptions) and emotions) worries and decisions with reference to her past) present and hopes for a future in which she 0ecomes a free) independent individual setting the scene for the feminist change of the "#th century. Therefore) the whole story can 0e seen as a deictic fielding which 1rs. 1allard is its deictic center. The social status of the main character) 1rs. foregrounds her marital status. he is married and she is an example of housewives who are not happy in their marriage. The

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author/narrator refers to her as 1rs. 1allard in sentence (4' and the thirdperson-pronouns /she/ and /her/ in sentences ("-+,) +.-,6) 6&'. uch pronouns are used 0y the narrator to refer to the main character who is the centre of action in the story. /Aouise/) her first name is used 0y her sister in (+5') while the first-person-pronoun /8/ appears in (+3') /(o away+ & am not making myself ill)/ her words are loud and direct to the reader for the first and last time in the story and in her life. 7er voice reflects a challenging spirit to illness and the terri0le circumstances around her. he seems to put an end to her fears and worries and decide that she is /Free, free, freeB/ The title of The Story of an Hour has deictic significance. The reader is invited to thin! of its meaning. /The/ is a definite article) as if the author/narrator assumes the readers familiarity with GThe toryG. (rom the very 0eginning the reader is invited to 0e part of the action in medias res (in the middle of things'. There is a story to 0e told and the reader is expected to !now more a0out its characters) setting) themes) sym0olism and other narrative features. Then) there is a temporal reference in the title /an hour/. The reference is to the time of the story (all events happen in one hour'. o) 8 thin! the title constitutes a deictic field in which the extra-fictional voice (Kate Chopin' is the deictic center.

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8n the first paragraph) sentence (4' constitutes a deictic field in which the narrator is the deictic center. The narrator provides some information a0out the main character. he is afflicted with a heart trouble. 7ere the reader is invited to thin! of the possi0le cause of her illness which could 0e related to her unhappy marriage. ;sing the passive form) great care was taken to tell her the news of her husband,s death. The following expressions may have deictic significance: -nowing, .rs+ .allard, a heart trouble, care was taken, to break, to her, as gently as ossible, the news, husband/s death. Ierceptual and temporal deixis are evident in these expressions. Jvery0ody seems to 0e worried. They expect her to have a heart attac! on hearing such devastating news. 9 push to another deictic field occurs in sentences ("-,' in which the deictic center is that of her sister Dosephine and her hus0and/s friend Cichards. Cichards !nows a0out the death of @rently 1allard in a rail accident. Then) Dosephine tells her the sad news in broken sentences$ spatial deixis in sentence (&') there) near her) invite the reader to speculate on the relationship 0etween 1rs. 1allard and Cichards. entence (6' involves a pop to the narrators viewpoint. 1rs. 1allards reaction is less than expected$ she is not li!e many women who have the

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same experience who react with a araly0ed inability to acce t its significance. There is a ma:or shift into the deictic field in which the protagonist) 1rs. 1allard) is the deictic center) sentences (5-4,'. 7ere) the reader is invited to enter 1rs. 1allard/s world which is full of suffering and confusion. The unhappy marriage and oppression she is under is :ust an example of what wives experience in late nineteenth century 9merica. 1rs. 1allards feelings) perceptions and thoughts are !ept hidden from all those around her except the extra-fictional voice) the narrator and the reader. 1rs. 1allard/s story represents womens suffering in a male-dominated society. The deictic shift is perceptual in we t) temporal in at once) perceptual in sudden wild abandonment then spatial in in her sister,s arms. Then 1rs. 1allard leaves her sister and Cichards. patial deixis is active in: went away) no one follow her) There) facing the o en window) into this) she sank) reach into her soul. uch expressions help the reader to maintain the spatial center. Celational deixis appear through use of evaluative expressions) ressed down be hysical exhaustion) haunted her body) seemed to reach into her soul. >ow 1rs. 1allard is setting on the chair) facing the window. entences (4"-46' involve a shift/pop to the narrator. Through the use of spatial and relational deixis) the narrator succeeds in creating the setting and

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1rs. 1allard reaction to it. Jxamples of spatial deixis: in the o en window) before her house) to s of trees, s ring life, in the street below and in the eves. The setting is spring and all her senses are invited- through use of relational deixis- to see the to s of trees that all were a1uiver with the new s ring life) smell the delicious breath of rain in the air) hear a eddler2 crying his wares) hear the notes of a distant song and s arrows twittering in the eves and seeing again atches of blue sky which are contrasted with the clouds that had met and iled one above the other in the west facing her window. Iopping out to the deictic center of the narrator ena0les the reader to identify irony. 1rs. 1allard) who is expected to 0e sad and thin! of widowhood) is now thin!ing of life) spring and her future. 7er decision a0out her future has not 0een made yet. This is not an easy tas!. 8n sentences (45-"4') perceptual deixis and her mental states are at constant wor!: a sob came u into her throat and shook her) dull stare) ga0e) something coming to her) she was waiting for it) what was it3 She did not know$ felt) cree ing out of the sky) reaching toward her. uch expressions reflect the conflicting thoughts inside 1rs. 1allards mind. Through a num0er of shifts to the narrator relational deixis reveals the main characters inner thoughts. 1rs. 1allard is like a child who had cried itself to slee continues to sob in its dreams+ She was young and her fair and calm

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face2bes oke re ression and even certain strength. 7er gaze at those patches of 0lue s!y is not a glance of reflection) but rather indicated a sus ension of an intelligent thought+ he is thin!ing of something) fearfully. 8t is too subtle and elusive to name. Then sentences (",-+,' represent 1rs. 1allards decision concerning her future. (rom now on she is free. he is no more a household. he retained her freedom. There is a temporal shift in sentence (",' which 0egins with 'ow. he approaches the most critical moment in her life) reaching to the climax of the story. >ow) she is /free, free, freeB/) /Free4 Body and soul freeB/ 1oreover) perceptual deixis is employed to represent her physical and mental states) rose and fell tumultuously) beginning to recogni0e) striving to beat it back) abandoned herself) a little whis ered word esca ed her2li s. Then there is a textual pop shift towards the narrator followed 0y a push shift towards the character. 7ere) speech presentation is activated. 8ndirect speech in ("3' is followed 0y direct speech in which 1rs. 1allard is the spea!er pronouncing her freedom. 9t this point) there is a shift towards the 0ody-parts of 1rs. 1allard: vacant stare) look of terror) went away from her eyes. 7er eyes stayed keen and bright) her ulses beat fast) her coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body. 9gain perceptual deixis which is ascri0ed to the main character and relational deixis which involve a

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pop to the narrator are 0lended. he is ma!ing sure she has ta!en the right stance and offers a :ustification for her position: did not sto to ask) monstrous $oy) enabled her to dismiss) suggestion as trivial) She knew) would wee ) she saw) years to come) belong to her) she o ens and s read her arms to them in welcome. he seems to 0e satisfied with her sense of discovery and she starts to thin! of her future. Temporal references to the future are evident: during those coming years) brief moment of illumination) while perceptual references reflect 1rs. 1allards view of the future: would be no one to live for) would live for herself) would be no owerful will bending hers in that blind ersistence) seem no less a crime) she looked u on it) what could love count for in face of this osition of self5assertion) recogni0ed as the strongest im ulse of her being. 9lso she reflects on her relationship with her hus0and. he !nows he had never looked save with love u on her. 2n the other hand her feeling towards him is not the same: she had loved him6sometimes+ 7ften she had not. Then a textual shift occurs: 1rs. 1allard is involved in direct speech stating her final position: /Free4 Body and soul freeB She ke t whis ering/. entences (+6-+3' descri0e a pop out to Dosephine) the sister: was kneeling before the closed door) her li s to the key hole) im loring for admission. he as!s her sister to o en the door. he seems to 0e worried: you will make

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yourself ill. 9 strong) :oyous and confidant answer comes from the inside: /(o away+ & am not making myself ill./ 9nother deictic shift occurs) this time it is a pop out to the narrator/author stand: /'o8 she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that o en window+/ This comment is an instance of relational deixis. 8t can 0e seen as an example of intertextuality where the writer invites the reader to reflect on elixir of life- an image/concept originated in the middle ages) of a drin! that is expected to ma!e life longer- and relate it to the spea!ers world which seems now a happy one. >ow) Aouise is now free from the 0onds of marriage and she prepares herself for a 0righter future. 8n sentences (,#-,5' there is a push into Aouise cheerful world. Temporal expressions refer to the future: those days ahead of her) s ring days) summer days) would be her own. These references are contrasted with yesterday when she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. Ierceptual deixis is apparent when she breathed a 1uick rayer that life might be long (here she wishes to have a long life after the death of her hus0and'. 9nd yesterday) she thought with a shudder that life might be long (when @rently 1allard was alive'. 2ther perceptual references include: she arose) o ened the door) carried herself) clas ed her sister/s waist) together they descended the stairs. 9 relational shift occurs in like a goddess of

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victory) the narrator/author ta!es us 0ac! to this concept of %ree! mythology. Aouise is winning her 0attle against oppression in a maledominated society. 9 pop out is assigned to Cichards) who stood waiting for them at the bottom. 9nother pop out to @rently 1allard who is referred to as: some one was o ening the front door) reflecting the view point of the characters inside the house. 2ther perceptual references which are related to the hus0and include: entered) travel5stained) carrying his gri 5sack and umbrella) had been far from2accident) did not even know) there had been one) stood ama0ed. @rently 1allard is 0ac!. 7is unexpected arrival results in a pop shift to Dosephine and her iercing cry and another to 9ichards/ 1uick motion to screen him from the view of his wife+ entence (6"' But 9ichards was too late) involves a relational shift to the narrator/s comment. 1rs. The reader is invited to fill in the missing part of the narrative regarding what has happened to 1rs. 1allard. 2n viewing the hus0and) she has a heart attac! and collapsed. Then the doctors are called to diagnose the cause of death. The last sentence in the story involves a deictic shift to the doctor/s perceptual world: /:hen the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease# of $oy that kills./ They decide that 1rs. 1allard is over:oyed to see

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her hus0and is still alive. he has a heart attac! and died. Iro0a0ly) the doctors) Cichards) Dosephine) and the pu0lic of late nineteenth century 9merica would accept this account. 2n the other side) the extra-fictional voice/author) the narrator and the reader would have a different interpretation of the closing sentence. 8t represents a deictic shift in which the doctors are the deictic center. 8t also includes different references: perceptual reflecting the doctor/s perceptions$ textual in the sense it is written in free indirect speech which form a vehicle of irony) hort and Aeech 4.34: &",-&6 and hort 4..6: &#6-4#$ and relational which reflects the narrator/author perspective ma!ing of the final statement an excellent example of situational/dramatic irony. 1rs. 1allard dies for the loss of her dreams to 0e a free individual in a male-dominated society. he dies 0ecause the spring days and the summer days she plans to en:oy have gone and she returns 0ac! to the prison of marriage where she is forced to live with a man against her well. 2 Concl)sion The analysis in this paper shows how cognitive poetics using toc!well ("##"' model of deictic shift theory offers an approach which allows more integration of language and literature where the linguistic features of the text

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are incorporated with the readers 0ac!ground !nowledge (narrative features) literary theory) author) reader) culture) society) history'. *eictic shift theory model offers the reader a dynamic movement throughout the process of analysis and interpretation leading to the creation of stri!ing images/understanding of the participants in the text: author) narrator) character and world. Chopin seems to 0e successful in using deixis to provide insight into the spea!ers thoughts) feelings and motivations. Ierceptual deixis is more associated with 1rs. 1allard world: The title) /.rs+/) a mar!er of status) signal her out from others. he is married and her case is :ust an example of many women who are oppressed and suffer in their marriage) not in Chopin/s time and the 9merican/>ew 2rleans context) 0ut also in all times and places all over the world. The third person pronoun /she/ appears almost in every sentence. 1rs. 1allard is the centre of action in the story. he is the deictic center in most of the deictic fields in which there is focus on her thoughts) feelings) emotions and senses: we t) ressed down) could see) smiling) hearing) stare) ga0e) glance) coming to her) waiting for it) did not know) felt) cree ing out) reaching toward her) bosom rose and fell) beginning to recogni0e this thing) osses her) striving to beat it back) abandoned herself) word esca ed) arted li s) said it over and over) /free, free, freeB/) stare) look of terror) went from her eyes which stayed keen

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and bright) ulses beat fast) coursing blood warmed and relaxed2her body) did not sto ) held her) enabled her to dismiss) knew) would wee ) saw) would belong to her) would live for herself) she had loved him6sometimes, 7ften she had not) recogni0ed) /Free4 Body and soul freeB/ she ke t whis ering) go away) & am not making myself ill) She breathed a 1uick rayer) had thought with a shudder. patial deictic expressions help the reader to follow 1rs. 1allard/s movement from one place to another inside the un0eara0le prison-house which is full of death and illness and to compare it with the spring life outside: went away to her room) There stood) facing the o en window) &nto this she sank) the o en s1uare of her house) &n the street below) s arrows twittering in the eves) There were atches of blue sky) showing here and there) clouds2 iled2in the west facing her window) out of the sky) o en window+ Temporal references help the reader to follow the participants in time. he we t at once) new s ring life) historical now) years to come) during those coming years) that brief moment of illumination) those days a head of her) S ring days and summer days) rayer that life might be long) yesterday) shudder that life might be long.

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Celational deictic expressions point to the narrator/author comments. uch comments can 0e seen as a vehicle of irony. /Afflicted/, in sentence (4') invites the reader to thin! of 1rs. 1allards/ illness. Iro0a0ly) the heart trou0le is an outcome of her unhappy life with 1r. 1allard. 2ther relational references include: a hysical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul (depression') in the west facing her window (death image') as a child who has cried itself to slee continues to sob in its dreams (innocence') lines of her face bes oke re ression and even certain strength) a glance of reflection) a sus ension of intelligent thought ( positive thoughts of future life') fearfully (social values of the time') subtle and elusive to name (thoughts of freedom') coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body (cheerful thoughts'. 1oreover) the narrator/author voice is eminent in the following sentences: ;<=> There would be no one to live for during those coming years8 she would live for herself+ ;<?> There would be no owerful will bending hers in that blind ersistence with which men and women believe they have a right to im ose a rivate will u on a fellow5creature+ ;@A> A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked u on it in that brief moment of illumination (my underline'. 2ther examples of relational expressions: ossession of self5

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assertion) the strongest im ulse of her being (freedom') she was drinking in a very elixir of life) li!e a goddess of victory and $oy that kills. Textual references are s!illfully employed: the title of the story) the opening paragraph) the closing paragraph) use of metaphors and irony) competent employment of speech presentation in addition to drawing on intertextuality. (inally) this paper is another example of cognitive poetics in practice where the researcher is involved in a process of analysis and interpretation 0ased on an exploration of Chopins utilization of deixis com0ined with o0servations a0out the text in addition to other external/contextual aspects in order to construct the textLworld of The Story of an Hour.

3or4s Cite+ Carter) C. (4.3"' %anguage and %iterature) Aondon: Coutledge. Carter) C. and Aong) 1. (4..#' Teaching %iterature) Jssex: Aongman. @reem) . (4...' Studying the .odern Bnglish 'ovel) ;npu0lished Ih.*. Thesis) >ottingham: ;niversity of >ottingham. Culley) 1. (4.56' The AwakeningC -ate *ho in) >ew Mor!: E. E. >orton N Company. *uchan et al (eds.' (4..,' Deixis in 'arrative: 9 cognitive cience Ierspective) >D: Aawrence Jrl0aum.

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Culler) D. (4..5' %iterary TheoryC A Very Short &ntroduction) 2xford: 2xford ;niversity Iress. (owler) C. (4.34' %iterature as a Social DiscourseC the ractice of linguistic criticism) Aondon: @atsford 9cademic and Jducational AT*. (ox-%enovese) J. (4...' An &nterviewC 7n *ho in and .odernism) in -ate *ho inC A 9e5Awakening) a I@ TF program. Cetrieved 4&-#5-"##,. (ttp://www.p0s.org/!atechopin/interviews.html.' %avins) D. and teen) %. ("##&' *ognitive Eoetics in Eractice) Aondon: Coutledge. Aeech) %.) and hort) 1. (4.34' Style in Fiction) Aondon: Aongman. Aevinson . C. (4.3&' Eragmatics) Cam0ridge: Cam0ridge ;niversity Iress. 1eyer) 1. (4..6' The Bedford &ntroduction to %iterature) @oston: @edford @oo!s. impson) I. (4..&' %anguage, &deology and Eoint of View) Aondon Coutledge. hort) 1. (4..6' Bx loring the %anguage of Eoems, Elays and Erose) Aondon: Aongman. toc!well) I. ("##"' *ognitive Eoetics) Aondon: Coutledge.

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Toth) J. (4..4' A Vocation and a Voice) >ew Mor!: Ienguin Iu0lishers. Ferdon!) I. ("##"' Stylistics) 2xford: 2xford ;niversity Iress. Eales) K. (4.3.' A Dictionary of Stylistics) ingapore: Aongman. Eiddowson) 7. (4.5,' Stylistics and the Teaching of %iterature) Aondon: Aongman.

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