Summary Of An Hour

Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Sommers have a fair share of intemperance. Mrs. Mallard has come to the realization that the death of her husband is not only a tragic occurrence, but also a beneficial cutting of her previously binding marital ties. The crisis of her grief has given her new insight on her life, and Mrs. Mallard understands that her marriage has limited her independence and freedom. Due to this realization she immediately forgets about the accident and starts to think about her freedom: ““Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering” (paragraph 14). It is only an hour after Mrs. Mallard has received the bitter news of her husband’s death. Considering that her husband is gone, instead of mourning, she is overwhelmed with the freedom she

In “The Story of an Hour” the main character Louise Mallard has just found out that her husband, Brently Mallard, died in a train accident. She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, (527) which means that she didn’t immediately think that her life was over and she could not go on without her husband, she thought of the rest of her life with open arms and excitement. She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. (527) she was looking forward to a whole new life, a life of her own. Of course she was sad and knew that she would mourn her husband, be sad when she saw him lying in the casket at his funeral. And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. (528) She is saying she did love him but not most of the time. While she was alone in her room staring out the window a feeling came over her that she was unsure of at first, but when she let herself go she realized it was freedom, triumph, and victory. She kept whispering to herself “free, body and soul free!”(528) She and her sister walked down the stairs together to find her husband, Brently, walking through the front door, she died of a heart attack as soon as she saw him.

The definition of freedom, according to Dictionary.com, is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In the declaration of independence, American citizens are given freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to vote, right to a fair trial, and freedom of assembly to name a few. These rights that we have enable us to form communities and have our voices heard regarding issues that negatively impact us as a whole or prevent us from moving towards a brighter and hopeful future because that is what freedom is. It is about hope. It is about being your own person without hesitation, without judgement. “The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin and “A&P” written by John Updike encounter two very

When her husband is killed in a train accident Mrs. Mallard cries, but for different reasons than would be expected. She is sad for her husband’s death, but, moreover, she is overcome with joy. For now she is free. No one recognizes her true emotions because women fall apart when their spouse dies; it’s required. Marriage is portrayed as a life sentence. "She said it over and over again under her breath: ‘free, free, free!' Her pulse beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body"(1). Mrs. Mallard was relieved that her husband died for she thought her sentence was over. When she realized that he was still alive, and therefore she was still committed to the marriage, she died from the shock and horror of being trapped.

Although some people react dramatically when facing a situation, after reflecting on their initial reactions, their previous emotions may be affected by a previously unknown feeling of freedom. In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, receives some sad news. Initially, Mrs. Mallard reacts with great sadness over the news of her husband’s death. As the story progresses, Mrs. Mallard begins to reflect on her previous emotions alone and begins to develop her true emotions towards her husband’s death. Finally, Mrs. Mallard realizes that the wonderful feelings of individual freedom overpower her feelings of sadness. Therefore, although Mrs. Mallard reacts with sadness over the death of her husband, Brently, after reflecting on her previous emotions, she discovers that the feelings of individual freedom overtake the relationship with her husband.

In “The Autonomous Female Self and the Death of Louise Mallard in Kate Chopin’s ‘Story of an Hour,’” Mark Cunningham expresses his opinion on how he believes Mrs. Mallard dies in Chopin’s short story. “The Story of an Hour” was written in the late 1890s, during a time when it was controversial for women to be independent. The ending of her story has created somewhat of a dilemma among readers for years. Some people conclude one ending based on the details and clues Chopin wrote throughout the story, while others come up with a totally different opinion. Mark Cunningham writes a brilliant article on his view of the story’s ending, where he clearly conveys his take on Louis Mallard’s death. Although there are many times when he repeats the same information, Cunningham makes good use of textual evidence and authorities, as well as logic, which makes it easy to agree with his claim.

This newfound freedom is in effect a new motivation for Louise. Before experiencing such freedom, Louise was petrified of the thought of life being long; now however, she felt herself wishing, even praying for life to be long. This is evidenced with the following quote, "She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long." (15). This depicts an ever embracing Louise, finally liberated of the powerful institution of marriage. What is more, this quote serves to further support the idea that Louise indeed felt trapped, she was unhappy and yet, the thought of her husband dying hadn't crossed her mind, only the relief from her own passing was her wish.

Such as the women do this and the men do that. The main character Mrs.Malard who has a heart defect and always has knew her life was going to be a short one. Mrs.Malard has a husband that is fighting in the civil war and in the story there is no indication that the husband was mean or abusive to her. Back in that time women were expected to certain things such as clean the house and do certain things to please their husbands. The whole society and culture was like that all women were doing was expected of them mothing more or and certainly nothing less. When Mrs.Malard reciced the news “It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed."”. When Mrs.Malard found out her husband was dead she filled with great relief not because she did not like her husband it because she was free. As rejoices in her “new” freedom she dies of the sight of seeing her husband walk through the door. This is a great example of naturalism because she does not need to do what is excepted of her and she van finally be free. As soon as she notices this she come realize that her husband is not dead because he at the front door and she drops dead. As Mrs.Malard finally become happy the unknown become

Louise feels that Brently is always in power and controlling her every move and that she lacks the freedom. Louise then goes upstairs to her

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.

(Spark notes editors, 2007). She received the news like any other wife would, rushes herself off run to bedroom from nobody cannot see her. Demonstrating a different side of her, sense happy that her husband has dead and has found new freedom that she did not have

In her article Kate Chopin’s View on Death and Freedom in The Story of an Hour, Xuemei Wan proposes that Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour expresses birth and death, psychology of Mrs. Mallard, and freedom. The Story of an Hour written by the American woman writer, Kate Chopin (1851-1904) fully shows us the tremendous conflict between life and death among those women who had more self-awareness. Who had less social living space according to the established social norms 100 years ago in a dramatic way. The heroine’s strong desire for freedom and sudden death. This reminds us of the philosophical thought on life and death of Zhuangzi, ancient Chinese thinker, Martin Heidegger, which deconstruct and transcend the conflict between them, and many more. In this essay, I will be critiquing Xuemei Wen article showing the strengths, weaknesses, and notable features.

The Story of an Hour starts off with Mrs. Mallard’s sister Josephine telling her the shocking news of her husband’s death. Mr. Richards who was her husband’s friend and Josephine were extra careful to deliver the news; worried it would upset Mrs. Mallard and affect her heart problems. Mrs. Mallard wept in her sisters arms, grieving for her husband after she finished she went to her room alone, she sat quietly reflecting on her feelings, gazing out her window seeing the new spring life and patches of blue sky. This symbolizes the new life she was imagining for herself because yes she loved her husband but his death brought a certainity to her freedom. In the Story of an Hour Louis or Mrs. Mallard repeats “Free! Body and soul free!” emphasizing the freedom she felt. Her sister was on the other side of the door worried for Louis and unaware how she felt, she begged her to leave her room. Feeling liberated Louis left her room “and carried herself unwittingly like a Goddess of Victory,” (The Story in an Hour) to join her sister. They were going down the stairs together and Mr. Richards was waiting for them at the bottom when someone unlatched the door and entered, it was Brantley Mallard who was not dead. Josephine cried out and Mr. Richards tried to shield Mr. Mallard’s view of his wife but it was too late. “When the Doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-of the joy that kills.” (The Story of an Hour)

This story is about a wife named Louise Mallard who has heart trouble, so she must be informed carefully about her husband’s death. Her sister, Josephine, is unfortunately the one who has to break the news to newly widowed wife. One of her husband’s friends, Richard, learned about her husband’s death when he was reading the newspaper and heard about the crashing of a train that Brently was on. Louise is devastated when she learns of her husband’s death and runs upstairs to be alone. Louise sits down and ponders about life while looking out the window and hears a vendor yelling what he is selling. Still crying, she looks into the distance wondering what’s next. She is nervous for her life ahead and doesn’t know what she is going to do without her husband. She starts to think about what life is going to be like without having anyone telling her what to do, when to do it, or how to do it. She starts to feel warm inside knowing she is finally free. Louise knows she will become overcome with emotions when she is forced to see Brently’s body. She imagines the years

Catherine O'Flaherty who is now known as Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis on February 8, 1850. She began to write after her Thomas O’Flaherty which is her father, was killed in a train accident in 1855. Kate Chopin went against people in her community and used her own life experiences as a feminist woman in the story. The story mirrors the life of her mother, Eliza O’Flaherty. Eliza’s husband died in a train wreck. Eliza was also young and easy to control just like Mrs. Mallard. Chopin father’s untimely death also caused her pain. Her writing career even began after her husband died in Louisiana in 1882. On top of that, she started was struggling financial troubles. Chopin then suffering from the loss of her family was advised to start writing as therapeutic healing. It was a way for her to focus her energy and provide herself with some income.