Katherine Anne Porter's The Story Of An Hour

“The Story of an Hour” by Katherine Anne Porter had the beginnings of a sorrow filled story, a fragile hearted wife stricken with the news of her husband’s sudden death. But unexpectedly the story diverges into the thoughts of a women, Mrs. Mallard whom feels liberated at the thought of her life without her husband, Bentley Mallard. The story is told thru symbols such as Mrs. Mallard’s heart disease, the scenery of her facing the window, and ultimately what Bentley Mallard represents.
Mrs. Mallard heart condition, her physical ailment is an important symbolic detail, that represents her unhappiness and negatively toward the life she’s leading. When her sister and husbands friend come to break the news of her husbands unexpected death they knew they must be weary of her aliment, as shown from the text, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.” As the story continues she realizes that it is because of her husband’s death that she has found a way to figuratively mend her heart and have a sort of rebirth approach to life. But alas, as her very not dead husband walks through the door and her very real physical heart condition meet the combination is fatal to Mrs. Mallard who physical and figuratively dies of a broken heart of unfilled …show more content…
Mrs. Mallard felt that she was living her life for her husband, consumed of the idea of never being truly free. Furthermore, in a time in society where women did not have the right or means to live life for themselves Mr. Mallard represents that figure, as shown from the text, “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will upon a fellow