Death Of Louise Mallard In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

Louise Mallard began to grief her husband’s death in Josephine’s arm. When alone in the room the sobbing had stopped. She then reveals great joy as Louise realizes

There is another scenario that may fit the story better than what is stated above based on the symbol given about her heart trouble. Mrs. Mallard could already have collapsed just before Brently walks in. Richards could be trying to save his friend from having to see his wife in this condition because Brently may also have a heart condition that is never discussed in the story. He may fear Brently having an attack along with Louise. Josephine’s cry could either be at the sight of Brently walking through the door, whom she thinks is already dead, or when she sees Mrs. Mallard collapse. One critic, Mark Cunningham, also believes that “Louise does not see him, and that the cause of her death lies elsewhere [and] makes the irony of the doctors’ statement that Louise dies of ‘joy that kills’ resound in ways that are more complex than the common understanding of its grants.” (Cunningham p. 1)

Louise returns to the friends and family who had so recently brought the news which began her metamorphosis. It is then that the door opens and Louise’s husband enters their home, completely unaware of the train accident or the indication that he had been involved. With Brently Mallard’s return her new life, her freedom, is lost to her in an instant, taken even quicker than it had been discovered. How can she return to the suppression which had been such an integral part of her marriage? Where will she find the resolve to return to the way of thinking that was such a part of her being at the start of day? This loss is much too great to bear.

The “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short story about a woman who struggles with the oppression she experiences at the hands of her husband and her secret desire for independence. Louise Mallard didn’t realize how upset she was in her marriage until she found out about her husband’s death. She grieves for only a short period of time before mentally creating a new life for herself. This new life she envisions help her to see the silver lining in a tragic event. Chopin uses symbolism throughout the story to portray the theme of a quest for identity.

on Mr. Mallard's death, thus one would not have occurred without the other. The fact that Louise on her own indicates the bending of her will to her husband's

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” grabs its readers from the start and creates an unexpected twist at the end of the short story. Louise Mallard is given the news that her husband has died in a terrible train accident. To her surprise, he arrives home and “did not even know there had been one” (Chopin, 607). Upon the death of Louise who once believes she was a widow only to find that her husband is still alive, the confusion begins. The death of Louise is questioned by many critics as a state of shock, depression, and sadness. However, Mark Cunningham’s criticism of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” states that her death was instead a discovery of freedom from the physical strains of her marriage with her husband and societal views

In "The story of an Hour," Kate Chopin reveals the complex character, Mrs. Mallard, In a most unusual manner. THe reader is led to believe that her husband has been killed in a railway accident. The other characters in the story are worried about how to break the news to her; they know whe suffers from a heart condition, and they fear for her health. On the surface, the story appears to be about how Mrs. Mallard deals with the news of the death of her husband. On a deeper level, however, the story is about the feeling of intense joy that Mrs. Mallard experiences when she realizes that she is free from the influences of her husband and the consequences of

Kate Chopin was a notorious American author who wrote various short-stories, poems, and novels. She was born during the nineteenth century in St. Louis, Missouri; throughout her childhood she was mentored by her mother, grandmother, as well as her great grandmother with no male authority present. She had a very dramatic life throughout her childhood, in 1855 her father was killed in a railroad accident, followed by her great grandmother passing away in 1863.

Louise’s realization of autonomy shows that while she did have a somewhat favorable marriage, she felt trapped and that her husband’s desires had been imposed upon her. Additionally, Mrs. Mallard’s death that soon follows shows how much this new freedom truly means to her and how horrified she is that it is being taken away from her so soon. Jamil states, “At the sight of her husband she is at once profoundly aware of her newfound freedom and the fact that it will not last. The shock that kills her must, then, be the realization that she has lost this freedom, and with it her human individuality” (Jamil 220). The epiphany Mrs. Mallard experienced liberated her from marriage, while Brently’s return shackled her back in, causing her to die from her overwhelming dismay of being

Another conflict in this story is the role of the wife versus the role of the husband. For instance, Louise struggled with her feelings about her marriage for years. Louise thinks "what could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being." She admits that she did love Brently, but often she did not. On the other hand, the story suggests that Brently was completely content in the marriage and assumed that Louise was too. This conflict is reflected in Louise's internal struggle. When she realizes that Brently is alive, she must die. This is the only way she can win the freedom she was struggling for within herself. She dies because he is alive, he is ultimately responsible for her death.

All of these subtle artistic elements help accentuate the underlining theme of the whole story. During the progression of the story, the reader learns of Louise melancholy towards her position in her marriage. Louise’s weeping about Brently’s death underlines the difference between her sorrow and happiness. Louise sobs or thinks about sobbing for well over the majority of the story, ceasing only when she ponders the prospect of her new freedom.

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a wonderful short story bursting with many peculiar twists and turns. Written in 1894, the author tells a tale of a woman who learns of her husband’s death, but comes to find pleasure in it. Many of the elements Kate Chopin writes about in this story symbolize something more than just the surface meaning. Through this short story, told in less than one thousand one hundred words, Kate Chopin illustrates a deeper meaning of Mrs. Mallard’s marriage with her husband through many different forms of symbolism such as the open window in the bedroom, Mrs. Louise Mallard’s heart trouble, and Chopin’s physical description of Mrs. Mallard.

Mrs. Louise Mallard has heart trouble and is about to learn that her husband has died in a railroad accident. That is the introduction, we have to the main character in the story. Is the heart trouble significant to the story? In the ensuing paragraphs there is great detail used to describe everyday occurrences. How can “aquiver with the new spring of life” or “the delicious breath of rain” lend its self to the story? Are these more important now than they would have been an hour earlier when she believed her husband was alive or does the author just enjoy using descriptive language? Louise slowly recognizes she is free of her husband’s “powerful will” and would be living her life for herself.

Anyone who receives notice of a loved ones death is never expected to take it lightly. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard is informed of her husbands “death” as gently as possible, and immediately she understands the enormous significance this loss will have on her life. Unlike many widow’s, her feelings of utter devastation do not last. Mrs. Mallard’s sobs of loss turn to cries of joy after she reflects upon her own character and discovers truths about her marriage.

The short story The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin, describes a woman conflicted with the death of her husband and her outlook on life after his assumed passing. Through the story, Chopin shows the transformation of Mrs. Mallard from that of an ordinary wife to that of a woman cherishing her newfound freedom. Although Mrs. Mallard is deeply saddened at the news of her husband’s passing, she finally begins to feel a sense of relief and witnesses what it means for her as a woman. Just as she begins to fully cherish her life, she is horrified at the sight of her “dead” husband’s return and proceeds to perish. Through the use of imagery and syntax, Chopin illustrates the interchanging psychoanalytic perspective of an individual following a personal loss.