Story Of An Hour Freedom

If there is one person in “The Story of an Hour” that demonstrates the feeling of freedom, it would be Mrs. Mallard. She experiences freedom for what seems to be the first time for about half of the story. “The Story of an Hour” is a fictional short story written by Kate Chopin. The protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, is a young woman with heart problems, and her sister Josephine has to break it as carefully as possible to her that her husband has died in a railroad accident. When Mrs. Mallard finally understands, she starts to grieve, but soon realizes the freedom she now has. With her husband gone, she is finally able to make her own decisions. Mrs. Mallard used to not want a long life, but now she prays that she will. She is celebrating with her sister when her husband walks in. Mr. Brently Mallard was nowhere near the accident when it happened, and didn’t know anything about it. When Mrs. Mallard sees him, she promptly dies of shock. Mrs. Mallard’s changing attitudes throughout the story reveal a lot about her as a person, …show more content…
Mallard is absolutely devastated when she hears her husband died. Thankfully, she wasn’t hurt physically when she realizes it(since she has heart problems), but she is definitely hurt emotionally. She shut herself in her room to grieve over her husband’s death. Paragraph 7 states, “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.” It is clear that Mrs. Mallard was miserable. However, she soon realizes that there’s a good side to this unfortunate event. The text states, “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’ ” (10). This is the moment Mrs. Mallard realizes the freedom she has to gain from her husband’s death. This is the first step for Mrs. Mallard to achieve her