Characters make up the entire story, but what is their part in the story? Many characters end up being either complicated or are the exact same throughout the story, so how is this shown? Louise Mallard has a heart problem, in which the people around her treat her like she is frail. Soon she receives news of her husband's supposed death and her sister is worried for her health. Louise would best be described as a flat character, although at first, when she receives the news her sadness is more from shock, and she quickly realizes what his death means for her life. You would expect her to be devastated, but she is the complete opposite and remains positive throughout the story. For example, one way she shows she is a flat character is through
…show more content…
For example, there is no information given upon their relationship in the past. At this point, the inferences that can be taken from Louise’s status and appearances help explain her reactions toward the news. It would seem at first when described as frail and having a heart condition, you would believe Mrs. Mallard is old, but later in the story says she has “a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression” (pg 761, Chopin) which contradicts the reader's belief. Her heart condition might explain why she may feel like a prisoner at times with no freedom, but when she appears more cheerful at the news of her husband's death this can mean a few things. Women used to be prisoners of their husbands with no freedom in the 19th century. Mrs. Mallard seemed that it wasn't a matter of not loving her husband but more of the fact of not having freedom; for she finds happiness out of his death, but has guilt because of this. This example shows if she didn't feel remorse or guilt it may have been from mistreatment in the relationship which would explain the happiness, but she in fact has guilt which shows there was indeed some love. Mrs. Mallard’s status as to which the author wrote showed she remained flat from the context clues when it came to her
For example, there is no information given upon their relationship in the past. At this point, the inferences that can be taken from Louise’s status and appearances help explain her reactions toward the news. It would seem at first when described as frail and having a heart condition, you would believe Mrs. Mallard is old, but later in the story says she has “a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression” (pg 761, Chopin) which contradicts the reader's belief. Her heart condition might explain why she may feel like a prisoner at times with no freedom, but when she appears more cheerful at the news of her husband's death this can mean a few things. Women used to be prisoners of their husbands with no freedom in the 19th century. Mrs. Mallard seemed that it wasn't a matter of not loving her husband but more of the fact of not having freedom; for she finds happiness out of his death, but has guilt because of this. This example shows if she didn't feel remorse or guilt it may have been from mistreatment in the relationship which would explain the happiness, but she in fact has guilt which shows there was indeed some love. Mrs. Mallard’s status as to which the author wrote showed she remained flat from the context clues when it came to her