Summary Of A Woman Rejoiced

Have you ever rejoiced when something bad happens to somebody? I am going to tell you about a story of a woman who rejoiced when a terribly tragic event happened to her husband. This story starts in 1894 when women had no power. The woman’s name was Mrs. Mallard, and she was married to Brently Mallard. She had a heart disease and any seriously shocking moments could trigger a fatal heart attack. Mrs. Mallard is an unsympathetic person based on her desire to become a widow, the perceived joy and freedom of her husband’s death, and the shock she faces when she realizes her husband is still alive. Mrs. Mallard felt stuck with no power and desired to become a widow because a widow had almost as much power as a man. She had two people watch over her because of her heart condition- her husband’s friend and her sister. She felt as if her husband was controlling her life. Once when she carefully walked over to sit in an armchair that was facing a window, she looked outside and saw the trees “spring with new life (1).” She wished she was a widow so she could be free like the trees. While she was contemplating these problems, her sister Josephine, one of the two people who were taking care of her, approached and slowly revealed the news of her husband’s death. She started weeping and then walked to her room. After her storm of grief was over, she had a dull stare which indicated her mixed feelings, she was sad because of her husband’s death, but also optimistic and looked forward to the freedom she would have. Mrs. Mallard was excited, because of the supposed freedom and joy her husband’s death brought h¬¬¬¬er. After Mrs. Mallard cast aside her mixed emotions, she felt happy and free. A few seconds later, “…a little whisper escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free’ (1)!” After she repeated those words many times, her dazed look departed from her eyes and was replaced by a “bright and keen” look of joy. …show more content…
Mallard’s happiness ended when she realized her husband was still alive. After she exited her bedroom, she started walking down the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she heard someone unlocking the door. Once the door was opened, her husband walked in unaware that people thought he was dead. Out of shock and disappointment she had a heart attack and collapsed to the ground dead. When the doctors came, they said, “…she had died…of joy that kills (1).” Some say she is a sympathetic person because she was being controlled. Others say she is a sympathetic person because she mourned the death of her husband. Yes, she was being controlled by her husband, but it is still unacceptable for her to wish for his death. Furthermore, rejoicing in his death is even more unacceptable. She was sad first when she heard of her husband’s death, but she began to whisper, “…free, free, free…” and had, “triumph in her eyes.” That doesn’t sound very sad or mournful, in fact it sounds like the opposite (1). She wants to be free no matter the price, which means his death is an okay part of the cost according to her