The Story of an Hour As the title puts it, “The Story of an Hour” is a story that happens in one hour. This story mostly revolves around one woman, Louise Mallard. The story begins on a very sad note especially in the eyes of a reader. Mrs. Mallard is said to have a “heart trouble” (Chopin 1), so her sister Josephine felt that great care had to be taken when delivering the sad news of her husband Brently Mallard’s death. Upon the delivery of the news, she starts sobbing and grieving then goes to her room to be by herself.
The Story of an Hour is about a woman with a fragile heart, who is carefully informed of her husband Brently Mallard's death due to a railroad accident. As one reads the story, it is simple to believe that Mrs. Mallard weeps at the news of her husband’s death, for now she is a young widow who may have been deeply in love. However, there is much more depth and there are layers to the story that spark the question of how well one can truly know what another feels if one only knows a short part of the story. Mrs. Mallard maintains a façade of loving her husband, which is also perpetuated by the world view that a married couple loves each other. She is oppressed by her husband, whose “face…had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead”.
In the beginning of the story we learn Mrs. Mallard’s husband, Brently Mallard, was killed in a train accident. Brently’s friend Richards rushed over to her house to break the news gently to Mrs. Mallard because she suffered from a fragile heart. Throughout her story, Chopin gave us the first names of the characters except for Mrs. Mallard. We didn’t learn her first name until after she received the news of her husband’s death. This signified that Mrs. Mallard was known only as Brently’s wife and didn’t have a true identity of her own until she was freed from her marriage.
The protagonist of “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard dies of a heart attack when she saw her husband alive just an hour later hearing of his death in the railroad disaster. The main character of “The Yellow Wallpaper” Jane is a woman who was diagnosed by her husband and physician John as having “a temporary nervous depression” (Gilman 55). He rented a big colonial mansion with gorgeous garden to help to treat her sickness by doing nothing. It was forbidden for his wife to write, to spend a lot of time with her baby, to have visitors and traveled somewhere. He controlled each Jane’s step by himself or with his sister supervision.
“The Story of an Hour” The beginning of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” presents a woman who is about to be told that her husband has been killed in a railroad disaster. Louise Mallard suffers from a heart condition so her sister and friends must break the news to her as delicately as possible. Immediately after hearing the shocking news, she reacts just as one would imagine by weeping as she ran off to her room alone. However, the reaction quickly shifts as with her husband’s passing she is overcome with joy as she realizes that she no longer has to live for anyone but herself. The open window that Louise gazes from is a key symbol which represents the freedom and opportunity that is now possible now that her husband has died.
Robin Shreve Ms. Johnson English 112 April 13, 2013 Symbolism of Two Stories Symbolism is one of many elements an author can use to aid a reader in understanding the picture being painted with words in a story. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and Peter Meinke’s “The Cranes” is filled with symbolism throughout these two stories. “The Story of an Hour” tell us about Mrs. Mallard who has a weak heart. She is told of her husband Mr. Mallard’s death from her sister Josephine and husband’s friend Richards. Her first feelings were of despair and then her mind begins thinking and she realizes she is free.
Richards tried to shield Mrs. Mallard from seeing her husband except it was too late. Once Mrs. Mallard laid eyes on whom she believed to be her late husband she collapsed and died. (Chopin 1894) When the doctor had seen Mrs. Mallard he said “she died of heart disease-of joy that kills." (139) it was assumed that she was so happy her husband was alive and she died from the shock. When in fact were the opposite it was her husband being alive and the thought of giving up her new found freedom and becoming repressed again?
This quote came from the narrator describing Mrs. Mallard, a woman who has just been notified her husband has been killed. She hysterically cried, at first. Now she has this warming sensation, a feeling of freedom. In the end though, her husband has not truly died. After feeling all of this freedom, she dies after seeing he is alive.
At first, you cannot help but pity her and then all of a sudden you wish you could feel like she does. I found Louise to be an example of a strong, honest, and open-minded women, I anticipate you will also. The reader’s first impression is that Louise’s heart condition,” Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death”(Chopin 573), makes her a physically weak character. This made me feel sympathy for Louise. In addition, we know she is fragile when we are told, “great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death”(Chopin 573).
After she goes away to her room alone and stays there for an hour; while her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richards, who brought the news, honestly believe that it would make her very upset and could affect her health. What happened in that room? “There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair” (449). The open window gives her a feeling of freshness, newness, and connection to the world. The comfortable, roomy armchair gives her a sense of security and comfort in spite of her husband's death.