Louise Mallard

Imagine hearing the news of the passings of a beloved one, but unintentionally having the sense of relief and ease. In “The Story Of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the female character Mrs. Louise Mallard recieved tragic news from her sister Josephine; her husband was killed in a railroad accident. Louise recognizes that she will mourn her kind, loving husband, who she sometimes loved, but she is also joyful at the prospect of so many years to herself. In the short story, Mrs. Mallard’s actions and thoughts go both in hand and opposition to the feminist theory. At the beginning of the story, it is evident that Mrs. Mallard is a fragile, weak character. With her heart condition leaving her weak, it took both her sister and husband’s friend to tell her the news about the passing of her husband. An action made by Louise herself that made her appear weak is when she continued upstairs to grieve alone after learning about her husband's death. “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.” This shows that the women …show more content…
In the story of an hour, marriage seems to be of a man having complete control over the woman, but now, Mrs. Mallard knows she has been living her life through limitations caused by being married to her husband, and realizes she can now begin to live for herself, and only herself. “There would be no 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.” Because Mrs. Mallard knows she’ll be able to live for herself, it goes against the feminist theory, that women are mostly dependent on