"The Story of an Hour"
“The Story of an Hour” is a fascinating tale of a young woman, Louise Mallard, whose life changed when given the news of her husband’s sudden death. She wants to leave her husband, but she loves him, or she did at one time anyway. In a surprise twist, Louise is given that chance. Mrs. Mallard is a callous woman made that way by a man whom she no longer loved, although one can sympathize with her and the life she lived. As a woman with a heart condition, the news was very carefully given to her from her sister, Josephine and the friend of the husband, Richard, about the passing of her husband. One can feel sympathetic for Mrs. Mallard, with the death of her continuously on the go husband, she felt free of his grasp. …show more content…
She is overjoyed at the thought of living out the rest of her life by herself. Chopin also states in the story that, “Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own…” (548).
At the beginning of the story the reader might assume that perhaps Louise would die of a heart attack from the grief, but instead she had excitement and relief knowing she would spend the rest of her days alone and not being controlled. The reader could assume that she was a sickly woman. Josephine yells for Mrs. Mallard: “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door- you will make yourself ill…” (548) she was not making herself ill with the news of her husband’s death, in fact she was doing just the opposite. She was drinking the elixir of life through the window.
She was not sad about her husband’s death, she was happy. She was happy because she would now be able to be her own free lady. Was Louise a callous woman? No, she was a prisoner of her husband. A woman who longed for more but could not fancy there being anything more than what was. Suddenly Mr. Mallard appears through the front door, Mrs. Mallard dies because she knew her freedom was taken away. “When the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease-of a joy that kills” (548). Mrs. Mallard died, after observing her husband in the
“The Story of an Hour” is a fascinating tale of a young woman, Louise Mallard, whose life changed when given the news of her husband’s sudden death. She wants to leave her husband, but she loves him, or she did at one time anyway. In a surprise twist, Louise is given that chance. Mrs. Mallard is a callous woman made that way by a man whom she no longer loved, although one can sympathize with her and the life she lived. As a woman with a heart condition, the news was very carefully given to her from her sister, Josephine and the friend of the husband, Richard, about the passing of her husband. One can feel sympathetic for Mrs. Mallard, with the death of her continuously on the go husband, she felt free of his grasp. …show more content…
She is overjoyed at the thought of living out the rest of her life by herself. Chopin also states in the story that, “Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own…” (548).
At the beginning of the story the reader might assume that perhaps Louise would die of a heart attack from the grief, but instead she had excitement and relief knowing she would spend the rest of her days alone and not being controlled. The reader could assume that she was a sickly woman. Josephine yells for Mrs. Mallard: “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door- you will make yourself ill…” (548) she was not making herself ill with the news of her husband’s death, in fact she was doing just the opposite. She was drinking the elixir of life through the window.
She was not sad about her husband’s death, she was happy. She was happy because she would now be able to be her own free lady. Was Louise a callous woman? No, she was a prisoner of her husband. A woman who longed for more but could not fancy there being anything more than what was. Suddenly Mr. Mallard appears through the front door, Mrs. Mallard dies because she knew her freedom was taken away. “When the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease-of a joy that kills” (548). Mrs. Mallard died, after observing her husband in the