Mrs Mallard Grief

In the short story "Story of an Hour," Mrs. Mallard which is the main character, has a serious heart condition. She must be carefully informed about her husband's death, which at any moment she could die. Mrs. Mallard is depicted as being sick, in grief and being free. The theme of this story is how something tragic happens and how the news need to be delivered to Mrs. Mallard and if her heart could handle the news.
The first depiction of Mrs. Mallard is her being sick. In "Story of an Hour" it states "Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble." Because of her heart condition her sister, Josephine, had to break the news to Mrs. Mallard as gently as she could.
The second depiction of Mrs. Mallard is her being in grief. Her being in grief is supported by how "...with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone." Her violent reaction immediately shows that she is an emotional, demonstrative woman. But when she is out of the others’ sight, her private thoughts are of her own life and the opportunities that awaits her, which she feels have just brightened considerably. …show more content…
Mallard is her being in the state of freedom. The thought of her being free is supported when she kept whispering" Free! Body and soul free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that followed her after receiving the news went from her eyes. Her eyes became keen and bright. Her pulse started beating faster and the coursing blood warmed and relaxation took every inch of her body. In the hour during which Mrs. Mallard believes her husband is dead, her heart begins to beat stronger and she started to feel her new independence physically. Yes she was saddened by her husband's death, but she finally felt at peace and her own independence. She felt what was coming to her was better than all the years and time spent with her