The Story of an Hour: the Intriguing Personality of Louise Mallard

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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. This was a time to reflect upon her life. The reality of a life without her husband slowly started setting in. During this time the author helps us to realize that the death of her husband meant that there will be no more “women and men oppressing one another” (Chopin 5). As she is in her room, there is an overwhelming feeling that slowly builds up. Although she tries to conceal it, she can feel it within. It is the feeling of joy and happiness as to the new freedom she has found. During the time that she is in the room, she gets to think of the days that lay ahead of her. She knows that she will cry when she sees the corpse of her husband. Although she had some feelings of love for her husband, she tries to console herself that none of that mattered anymore and she would get a new kind of freedom. From the general look of things, it seems that this marriage was rather a sad than a happy one. At the beginning of the story, Louise is described to have a “fair calm face whose lines bespoke repression” (Chopin 2). The lines of repression portray that she was in an unhappy marriage. Her heart trouble at such an early age was also another sign that she was unhappy. The death would release her from all her unhappiness and usher her in to the world of independence, self-control and a new life. When in her room, the words “Free! Free! Free!” (Chopin 4)
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