Story Of An Hour

In the opening of “The Story of an Hour?” by Kate Chopin, we are introduced with the death of Brently Mallard whose wife, who also has heart trouble, is about to hear the saddening news. On the other hand, in the concluding paragraph, the doctors conclude with the wife’s death from heart disease, “of joy that kills”. Therefore what is ironic is the fact that in the end the wife turned out to be dead and not the husband, Mr. Mallard, although throughout the story Chopin made it seem as if the husband was dead. The discrepancy in the story is that Chopin had said that the husband had died in a railroad disaster, which as we now know was false, while the wife’s death turned out to be indeed true. Moreover, in the introduction, we see also see …show more content…
After Mrs. Mallard found out the news about her husband 's passing, we see her briefly as a grieving widow, crying in her sister’s arms, that is until paragraph four. In paragraph four, we see her as she flees to her room and then sits down in a “comfortable, roomy chair”. Its seems inappropriate for a wife who just lost her husband to be sitting comfortably in a roomy chair. She should be sitting on the floor or laying on her bed crying her heart out. We expected a wife who would not stop crying uncontrollably after learning that her life partner was gone, but that is not the case here with Mrs. Mallard. The chair also holds other important significance as it is facing an open window, symbolizing freedom and openness. As she sits in the chair and looks out the window, she feels free from her …show more content…
These emotions keep flowing inside her as she continued to look out the window for some time. As stated in paragraph four, she sees “the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life” a new spring life that she translates into this new life of hers, a new beginning in her life. To continue, the references to spring signify a rebirth for Louise, hence a new beginning. This rebirth is also said by comparing her to “a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams”(written in paragraph seven). With showing Louise in such a setting, we became more aware of her inattentive and dispassionate mood toward her husband’s death. Chopin continues to inform us of Louis’s unperturbed state in paragraph eleven as she began to embrace her freedom when she whispers “free, free, free.” Although she is happy she is free, she is also hesitant about her feelings for she cannot help but to be saddened when imagining her husband’s corpse. But again came the thought of happiness, of enjoying her new life. In paragraph thirteen, she realized that why should she be saddened by her husband’s recent death if she had a long life ahead of her and was going to be extremely happy with the rest of her new life. She