The Story of An Hour
In 1894, Kate Chopin wrote, "The Story of an Hour." In this fictional tale the author describes the experience of Louise Mallard, a woman with heart trouble, immediately after receiving news of her husbands death. Unlike the expected reaction, Louise actually has a moment of relief realizing the freedoms she now has, which were taken from her by an unhappy marriage. All the events of the story take place within an hour in Louise's home. In the final minutes of the hour, Mrs. Mallard is shocked to see that her husband walks through the front door alive and well, which causes her to have a heart attack and die. While her family believes she had a heart attack because she was overjoyed, the author leads us to conclude the heart attack was actually caused by her realization that the freedoms she looked forward too were no longer a reality. Kate Chopin's description of what the main character feels and sees shows us how this is possible. The story is very well written as it flows from one paragraph to another each presenting a new idea or information for the reader. The story begins by informing us that Louise's husband, Brently Mallard, was killed in a railroad disaster. Being that Louise has a heart condition, her family was conce
The author uses one sentence in particular which shows us that Louise's love for her husband paled in comparison to the joy of her newfound freedom: "What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!" (pg. 14) as a result of her husband's death. During Louise's experience in her room, Josephine was kneeling on the other side of the door begging for Louise to unlock and open it. Once she saw her husband alive, it destroyed her future of freedom and happiness she had looked so forward to, which her heart could not handle. Josephine was concerned that her sister was stressing herself and it would have negative effects due to her heart problem. We can go a simple step beyond that and say that a wife who realizes her husband is alive after the thought of his death is filled with such a joy that a troubled heart could not handle. She explains of a feeling the main character feels approaching. The following, which is excerpted from the story, clearly paints a peaceful picture as Mrs. This is why after careful review of the text I am convinced that Louise's reaction to seeing her husband was still alive, was complete disappointment rather than joy. She completely recognized the strong possibilities of crying over her husband's death in the future, yet nothing could ruin the beautiful future she felt was in store for her. The delicious breath of rain was in the air.
Common topics in this essay:
Richard Brently's,
Kate Chopin,
Louise Mallard,
Brently Mallard,
Kate Chopin's,
Eventually Louise,
heart attack,
husband alive,
husband's death,
,
main character feels,
front door,
heart handle,
main character,
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character feels,
unhappy marriage,
seeing husband alive,
brently mallard,
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