Emily Choumbakos Literature Based Research Erin Lesh 4 May 2014 There is one clear main character,

     The background of the story gives us the idea of what Mrs. Mallard’s marriage meant to her. We see a picture of a young well-to-do wife who seems to be very pleased with her life. We also get the impression that she was deeply in love with her husband.

Immediately after the news of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard races upstairs into her room where she settles into “a comfortable, roomy armchair” (para.4). The armchair symbolizes the rest from the oppressive life she had and freedom from society's expectations. Since it was tradition for women to be married by a certain age, Louise Mallard must have obligated to marry Brently. Sitting in the armchair, she gazes out of the window and starts indulges in deep thought, which establishes her as an intelligent individual.

Louise Mallard is the protagonist of The Story of an Hour. The entire story is about her preservation. Chopin portrays Mrs. Mallard as a woman who is in deep suffering. She is not only suffering from a marriage she is not happy with, but she is also suffering from her medical condition. As if she had not suffered enough, she also puts a threat to her own life. We see this when Josephine is knocking on her door while she refuses to open it (Chopin). What is unknown to Josephine however is that her sister is in fact not suffering but savoring the moment.

In “The Story of an Hour” we see Mrs. Louise Mallard receives news of the death of her husband. The

Mrs. Mallard finds out that her husband has just died, "she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment." The character of Josephine is there to represent her conflict against society. As the story starts up, she as Mrs. Mallard turns to her sister Josephine and weeps in her arms after hearing the sudden news of her husband's death. This is her acknowledging the grief that society expects her to feel. Her openness to Josephine represents the acceptance that came with acting in accordance with what society expected. Mrs. Mallard displays her strength, “When the storm of grief … away to her room alone.” The fact that she does not bring Josephine with her implies the conflict that is about to take place." Josephine is the social norms, assuming that she is weak without her husband by her side. Mrs. Mallard's isolation from this assumption represents that she has strength and can stand on her own. This expected strength is confirmed as Chopin writes, "Josephine was kneeling … lips to the keyhole”, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! … before you make yourself ill." The closed door to Josephine shows her decision to close her

In "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, we are introduced to Mrs. Mallard. She is portrayed an unloving, heartless, woman who is overjoyed by the passing of her husband-— or at least that is the common misconception. Mrs. Mallard although perceived as inhuman, is actually more human than most would like to believe. While her actions may seem questionable or even to be condemned, they are hardly unthinkable in light of the issues involving marriage and the woman's role throughout history. The story itself presents a valid argument in favor of Louise as she is portrayed as the oppressed wife finally set free after her husband's death.

Mallard lets the reader know she feels imprisoned by her life as Mrs. Mallard, Mr. Mallard's wife. Mrs. Mallard feels stifled and bound by her limited opportunities. Josephine and Mrs. Mallard may be sisters, but they have very different outlooks on a woman's role in society.

In the beginning, Louise Mallard is referred to as the wife of Brently Mallard instead of her own name. Showing us the she doesn't get to be her own person. Once she heard about his death she "went way to her room alone", and she began to think about the life she has waiting for her.

Louise Mallard represents a self-image of a fragile woman, who’s strength, passion or any kind of emotions she has remained deeply hidden behind layers of suppression. If she ever breaks free of confinement, she will find no other society willing to take her in and Mrs. Mallard will have gained freedom just to find out that she has no future ahead. She is only freed when her husband passes away. This overwhelming joy she feels hearing the news

The beginning of the story sets the theme for the whole story. We are told about the heart condition that inflicts Louise. This is significant throughout the story. The heart condition is a symbolic way of describing her thoughts of oppression she felt about her marriage. She was trapped and isolated by the marriage. She felt the need to hide these feelings. Women of her era were supposed to be home and under their husbands command. The story has her going through this journey privately. That is significant in the fact that now in her husband’s passing, she will be alone. She will need to work through things by herself. She will be able to go through the whole process on her own, without being judged and persuaded to feel differently.

While Mrs. Mallard remembers Mr. Mallard as a kind and tender man who loved her, she also viewed him as the oppression that marriage put upon women and men. While Mr. Mallard was kind and loving to his wife, he was also controlling and overbearing. Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister and Richards, Mr. Mallard’s friend is there to break the news of Mr. Mallard’s death. Richards has learned of Mr. Mallard’s death at the newspaper office, not wanting to believe the information that was received, Richards waited for the new to be delivered for a second time before enlisting the help of Josephine. They are both there to support Mrs. Mallard and their support shows that they care for Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.

Mallard “and referred to as “she” for most of the narrative. Only when Louise has become “free body, free soul!” , she is addressed directly in the text by he own name. Regardless of the love and care she has for her husband, the problem she sees is the unequal relationship in which one individual exercises his powerful will on the other. This is the reason that she is now regaining her freedom. It seems from the description that Mrs. Mallard has been trapped in this marriage for a long and she wants independence from her unhappy marriage. Hence, Chopin uses irony in the story to show the unequal relationship in late 1800’s.

Mrs. Mallard’s sister, Josephine reminds me of my twin sister. When Josephine goes to the door and tells Mrs. Mallard to open up and come out, I think of the time when my sister, Elene, did same thing when I am sad. Remembering the time when I had went through a relationship ending. I was really upset and Elene would sit in front of my door and tell me to come out, while making jokes because she knows I like to laugh.

     After a while, Mrs. Mallard’s sister Josephine becomes concerned and inquires of her to make sure that she is well. It is at this point in the story that her name is revealed. From the beginning of the story, it was peculiar that everyone had first names, Brently, her sister Josephine, and her friend Richards, everyone that is except Mrs. Mallard. It is not until after Mrs. Mallard is “free'; that we find out that her name is Louise. She was forever referred as Mrs. Mallard a mere appendage of Brently Mallard. She is now Louise because without Brently she has her own identity. In this sense, the author is trying to say that marriages repress women and it was not until after her husband’s death that she can truly be Louise. For Louise, being Mrs. Brently Mallard was a burden. During this time, she felt oppressed and lived in her husband’s shadow, as the title Mrs. Mallard indicated. Then suddenly, her storm of grief turned calm and “her fancy was running riot along all those days that would be her own.'; This was an awakening of the sort, where in fact Mrs. Mallard thought that these feelings once suppressed by marriage could finally prolong her life.

Within the story The Story of an Hour there is a train wreck that Louise Mallard’s husband is thought to be on and so his name is on the list of people whom have passed. Mrs. Mallard’s sister and husband’s friend, knowing that she has “heart troubles,” try to keep the news from her before they can enlighten her of the harsh news lightly and smoothly, with much success. She shows a face of how she should react, but on her own she thinks of all of the possibilities that she can do now. She actually feels better about life and wishes for it to be longer than she had when her husband is alive. Through his death she gains a sense of identity for herself. During the time of Mrs. Mallard’s world, a good wife would be one that “accepts the conventions”