Mrs. Louise Mallard In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

The narrator of “The Story of an Hour” wants readers to believe Mrs. Louise Mallard is a woman who cared deeply for her husband but that is not the case. Mrs. Mallard is a wife portrayed in the beginning to be in deep love with her husband who worked on the railroad. Her family and friends worry about her because she “…was afflicted with a heart trouble…” (Chopin 15). When her sister broke the news of his death she was only sad for a short matter of time. This short matter of time is only the beginning of the irony in the story. Louise first appears to be sad for her husband’s death, at least that is what the author wants readers to believe. Once her sister told her the news: “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.” (15). When she finds comfort alone in her room in the armchair facing an open window she cries for a while. Soon after her tears are gone finds a sense of …show more content…
Mallard’s not-so-sad reaction to the news of her dead husband. “The Story of an Hour” tells readers this only happened within an hour or a short period of time. Louise was able to radically turn herself around from grieving to being happy within an hour. Even her sister Josephine was worried about her and said “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door – you will make yourself ill. What are you doing Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.” (16). Not long after Josephine’s cry for her, Chopin describes Louise as so: “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” (16). The words “goddess of Victory” (16) are strong words to describe a woman who should be sad her husband is gone. Chopin used emphasize how strong and powerful she felt with her husband gone. The excitement she shows makes the reader feel uncomfortable because of the short window of time from when she was told about the