The Story of an Hour- Kate Chopin

Abstract: In the story Mrs. Mallard has heart trouble. Her sister tells her how her husband has died during a railroad accident. Mrs. Mallard then becomes very upset and mourns the loss of her husband. She says then how she is free and able to be independent. She then came down stairs. When she came down the stairs, she saw her husband who had not died and had not even heard of an accident. She then died. The doctors later said that she died of heart disease.

Response: This story is ironic. It's kind of sick how she thought her husband died, but then he really didn't die, and then she died. She seemed upset that he had died, and she wanted to be upset that he had died, but then she didn't She exclaimed how she was free. She seemed excited that she was finally free of him and could be independent which is kind of sick considering she just found out that he had died. She was happy that she would be by herself in the coming years, and she thought about how she had not really loved him that much during their marriage. She would only live for herself and know one else which excited her. I think Mrs. Mallard had some issues since she was so happy after finding out that her husband died, or maybe she did not really love him at all or he had done something to her. Her character is seen as a selfish woman who does not care about her husband who loved her deeply. She could have been seen as an evil person even though she may not have wanted her husband dead,she was happy and relieved when he died which is sick. But maybe her husband was not that good of husband to her and that is why she was relieved when he died. She could have also been happy that he had died because then she would not be stuck worrying about him while he was away working on the railroad. She could have been sick of worrying about him, or she could have been sick of waiting for someone and being married to a man that was never home. Did she die from shock that he was still alive? Was she so upset that her independence she dreamed about for her future would be gone? Or did she die from the joy that he was really alive? The end of the story says how she died of joy that kills, but where did that joy come from? She seemed joyous about her independence, but she could also have been joyous over the return of her husband. Her happiness over being free of her husband could have just been a defense mechanism she used in order to try to cover up the pain she really felt about her husband's death.