She is a middle aged woman with heart trouble, and bad news was about to come her way of the “possible death of her husband” (Chopin, 1894, para.1). Mrs. Mallard was a lady who was possibly controlled in her life by her husband. “When hearing the news of the death, she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in Josephine’s arms” (Chopin, 1894, para.3). I can feel the attachment that she had with her husband, but wept once also shows maybe some antipathy. Mrs. Mallard made her way to her room and stared out her window to watch her new life take fold.
At first, Mrs. Mallard "wept at once, wigh sudden, wild abandonment, in ber sister's arms." Once the greif dissapeared she went to her room and sat in tbe armchair facing an open window. It was then that a "suspension of intellegent thought" came to her mind. She started to realize that she is happy that her husband has died. "She said it over and over under her breath 'free, free, free!"
We are left to see that the window is a representation of Louise’s life to come after the death of Mr. Mallard. Louise’s heart trouble is both a physical and symbolic disorder that represents her uncertainty within her marriage and her unhappiness with the lack of freedom in it. Her heart condition is one of the first things we learn about in the story. “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” (168). That is why Josephine became so worried
Mallard “was afflicted with a heart trouble” and that she had to be approached with “great care” to tell her of her husband’s death (Chopin 212). As the story continues, however, it becomes evident that her illness is really a lack of love for her husband. Louise Mallard’s disinterest really became apparent to her when she whispered the words “free, free, free” (Chopin 212). “Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (Chopin 213). At this point, Louise’s emotional well being left her feeling like her heart was about to burst at the
Better than I had hoped for even. Tell him I was given back everything he took away and more … (Porter 81) Granny Weatherall is faced with another major loss in her life the day her husband died. John’s death did not only impact her life, but also the life of the children that were left in her sole care, from that day forward. As of that day, she had to become not only a mother but a father to her children as well. Granny speaks, of how the things she had to do, “changed a woman” (Porter 79), and was afraid, John “Couldn’t possibly recognize her” (Porter79).
Marea Wiggins Personal Journal on “Story of an Hour” While reading “Story of an Hour”, it bought about so many different emotions, such as sadness, disappointment, guilt, hurt, and the feeling of being free. When Mrs. Mallard found out about her husband’s death from her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richard, Mrs. Mallard couldn’t accept the fact that it was actually her husband who had died. If I was in her position, I really don’t believe that I could get over something so shocking just that easy. The hurt and sorrow would be entirely too much for me to handle. The one moment when Mrs. Mallard was alone in her room really stuck out the most.
The reading shows the positive change that has taken over the feminine world from the eighteenth century until now. This story tells of Mrs. Mallard, who is suffering from heart trouble and is told false news of her husband’s death. “She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same with a paralyzed inability to except its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour” is a statement on the oppression of women in the time during which the story was written. The first line of Chopin’s short story describes the fragility of the main character, Louise Mallard, and her ambiguous heart trouble (Chopin 176). The author writes, “great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (176). By beginning the story this way, Chopin shows that Louise Mallard cannot be left responsible for her own emotions towards a massive event in her life. Rather, her feelings must be managed and controlled by those around her.
It wasn’t until the second time I read the story that I realized Mrs. Mallard was relieved when she heard the news of her husband` s death. The actions and words Mrs. Mallard portrayed proved this point. The author leaves the reader to almost make a story of their own by leaving out details and allowing the reader to add their own. To prove this, in the beginning of the short story, the reader gets the impression that this woman is going to be extremely upset that her husband has died in a train accident. Her closest friends and family come to her to easily break the news of her husband` s recent death.
As the story shows, we can witness the events that took place that lead to the action of Emily, dictating grief as the cause for her supposed signs of mental illness. We realize in the story that Emily, devastated and alone after her father’s death, is an object of pity for the townspeople. This uncomfortably and neglect of society towards Emily could be argued to the fact of grief and depression to have caused her mental illness at the end of the story. We can compare this to the balance of comfortable settings through acceptance and neglect. After a life of having potential suitors rejected by her father, she spends time after his death with a newcomer, Homer Barron, they are witnessed taking Sunday strolls and enjoying each other’s companies.