As can be inferred, her heart is a major hindrance in their lives, and is constantly needing attention. Another role the heart plays in the story is Mrs. Mallard’s liberation. She feels oppressed by her marriage and her husband, and wants to live for herself. When she goes to the room by herself and sits in the large, comfortable chair, she whispers to herself, “Free! Body and soul, free!.” This shows that she feels like her heart, her soul, is trapped by her marriage, and with the news of the death of her husband, she is first filled with grief, because she did love him, but later with glee when she realizes that she is free.
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.
Maria Portillo January 14, 2013 A.P English Literature – Period 4 Modern Love by George Meredith In the poem, Modern Love by George Meredith, it defines the feelings about a husband and a wife, who both had suffered in a loveless marriage. Meredith uses literary devices to convey the view of “modern love”; he uses alliteration, metaphor, and imagery throughout the poem. Meredith uses alliteration in the first line of the poem, “she wept with walking eyes (line1).” Since the beginning of the poem the readers could notice that the wife was already unhappy, since she had cried, probably for unhappy marriage. He also writes, “were called into her with a sharp surprised (line 4)”, meaning that she wanted to escape the marriage but couldn’t, and that the time that is poem was written it referred to the marriage in the 19th century. Which both the wives and husbands were forced to marry, without loving each other.
The first line of the first stanza, the speaker begins by stating, “Abortion will not let you forget.” This statement catches the eye with powerful words and a strong presence. The mother is being haunted by her past abortions, not wanting to feel the pain. An example is shown in lines eleven and twelve: "I have heard in the voices of the wind the voices of my dim killed/children" (ll. 11-12). The mother feels heartache and sorrow about what she did because she knows her mistake will be with her for the rest of her life.
Among the similarities between Calixta and Mrs. Mallard are the conditions of their marriages around the time of the stories: Calixta to Bobinot and Mrs. Mallard with Brently Mallard. From the text given in both short stories and the subtext in between the lines, Calixta and Mrs. Mallard were not satisfied with their marriages. The latter, Mrs. Mallard, did not have a fondness for her husband and this was evident in her quick realization that she was finally free, free to live out the rest of her days how she wanted. Despite her heart condition, the story mentioned that Mrs. Mallard breathed that she would get to live a long life ahead of herself. It would be a life that was hers and hers alone.
As a result, Cinderella’s father remarries, but soon passes away, leaving Cinderella in the care of her step-mother along with two step-sisters. Though Cinderella appears happy, she is stricken with grief after the loss of both of her parents. Grief is described as “a natural, necessary and therapeutic reaction to loss. A powerful and personal emotion… [that] makes ordinary life impossible” (Berger 12-13). People who suffer from grief often experience several stages of emotion.
Sara is so emotionaly attached to Rosita´s problems that it affectes her psycologically and physically. Sarah´s daughter, kate, is very scared of and worried about her mother´s behavior and when things go out of hand, she decides to move back to a flat and his brother leaves for a field trip. One night, Sarah feels uterine pains and a good neighbor accompanies her to the emergency room. The neighbor thinks that it is a miscarriage but Sarah has such an emotional bond with Rosita that their menstrual cycles are aligned. Dr. Fisher initially diagnoses her with a psychological pregnancy but after Kate gives him the “ Urgent Action Bullentin´s”, he changes the diagnosis of histeria and identifies Rosita as the source of the problem.
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. This reflected times when women were just supposed to be happy about being mothers and wives and not think about themselves or what they wanted. After learning about the death of her husband, Louise began to feel treacherous emotions warring inside of her. Society demanded that she mourned the loss of her husband for a year; she, however, was beside herself with joy at the thought of finally being free. “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.
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). In my opinion, Louise’s marriage was bringing her down and making her character feel old. Again, I feel sympathy for Louise due to the struggles she had with herself and her marriage. Chopin portrays Louise as a prisoner of her husband. This was not strange at the time Chopin was writing the story.
Reading and Discussion Questions on Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” 1. What is the nature of Mrs. Mallard’s “heart trouble,” and why would the author mention it in the first paragraph? Is there any way in which this might be considered symbolic or ironic? Explain. Mrs. Mallard’s heart troubles seem to cripple her as her loved ones and all the people around her see her as this fragile lady who cannot even handle the emotional strain of her husband’s death.