Why I Live At The Post Office Short Story Summary

     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.

There is one clear main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard. The story is almost entirely focused on her, her feelings, and her personal mental journey from being a prisoner and a shell of a woman, living in an oppressive, patriarchal society within the confines of a marriage to the elation of newly acquired freedom and a rebirth of that that, for the first time, belongs to her solely.

Mallard got married to a man out of convenience, not love. Her marriage as well as her heart troubles caused her weariness. Throughout her marriage, she felt guilty because she did not always love her husband even though he portrayed superior qualities. After her husband’s passing, she felt liberated to begin a new life. The story takes place during a time when women received little to no respect and did not receive treatment like equals in a marriage or a relationship.

Sister manipulates the stories events to assist herself by convincing the readers that everybody in her family is out to get her. One such event is when Sister recounts how Stella-Rondo twists a story telling Papa-Daddy that Sister said he should shave his beard.

Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Mallard is overwhelmed with grief, which swiftly turned into hope. Mrs. Mallard’s reaction upon receiving the news of her husband 's death is considered to be unusually by society’s standards. In the beginning of the story it is revealed that Mrs, Mallard suffers heart problems; however, when it is revealed that her husband is dead her heart is relieved. She was thrilled that she was able to be her own person again. It was revealed through her reflection on her marriage that she “had loved him - sometimes” (16). Mrs. Mallard overcame is quick to overcome her grief after the realization that she has been set free of her horrible marriage. As a married woman, Mrs. Mallard is miserable, but as a widow she feels a sense of relief that she is free of her marital vows. At the end of the story Mrs. Mallard dies of a failing heart which it ironic because typically a woman would be filled with joy to find out

Mallard has a heart condition and her husband recently has died. She feels depleted at first, but then she starts to not feel sorry as she realizes she has more freedom. However, Mr. Mallard comes in through the door being alive this whole time and everyone is in shock. Once Mrs. Mallard see her husband she is in shock and passes away at the sight.

The journey that both Mrs. Mallard and Amir experience sends them into deep emotion; furthermore, their attitudes during these occurrences display the similarities between the two very different characters. The sudden news of her husband’s death at first sends Louise into turmoil. Her reaction of weeping at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms portrays the idea of Mrs. Mallard’s feelings of love and security being torn apart (288). The isolation that Louise then places herself into illustrates her willingness to stay strong and the difficult expedition her heart embraces upon to process her feelings.

Mrs. Mallard reaction to her husband's death represents her marriage and how the lack of freedom and individualism in it takes a toll on her body and soul.

Mallard’s oppression is that she feels freedom when her husband has passed. Most times a widow would grieve for the loss of her husband for many months and/or months to come, but this is not the case with Mrs. Mallard. She cries uncontrollably for a couple of minutes and then starts to realize how her life could be so much easier without him. The roomy chair she sits in and opened window she looks out of symbolizes how now her life can be free. The breath of rain in the air, the spring life, the westward facing of the window viewing the sunset, and the notes of a distant song all help her realize her

The story continues to reveal a conflict Mrs. Mallard may have had in the relationship with her husband. Though she speaks about him lovingly and knows that he loved her, there is something deeper that is brought to the surface in

The story unviels its theme at this point: Mrs. Mallard, for the first time in her life, experiences a new-found freedom. Instead of dreading the future without her husband, "she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely". She could now live her life and be absolutely free of the imposing will of her husband: There would be no one to live for her during the coming years; she would live for herself. There would be now powerful will bending hers in the blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.(15)

I believe the plot of this story is finding out why “Sister” goes to live at the post office. All the events that are given to us in the story leads up to the plot. It all starts when Stella- Rondo returns to town with her supposedly adopted daughter, Shirley-T. Stella-Rondo, being the youngest is obviously the favorite. Stella starts to try and turn everybody against her by feeding lies to everybody. All the family members turn against Sister and this eventually steers sister into leaving and going to live at the Post Office. The characters in this story are sister, which is the narrator, Stella-Rondo which is the little sister of the narrator, Mama, the head of the house, Papa-Daddy, sisters grandfather, Uncle Rondo, a very emotional man

Mrs. Mallard is a woman that is suffering in marriage. We realize that she was not very optimistic about her married life. The night prior to the "death" of her husband, she had quietly prayed for her life to be short. She had reached a point of disillusionment and would gladly welcome death as an option out of the marriage. When she learns that her husband had perished in the train accident, she first reacts by

Looking through the Marxist Lens helps the reader understand certain parts of the text. A Marxist reading of a text is looking to see the difference social status of the characters. The Marxist lens generally focuses on who has the power and money and who does not which defines if they are in the upper or lower class. It also revolves around the results of the differences in power and money and the setting or time period. The time period is important because a person that has $1,000 in 2015 is not rich while a person with $1,000 in 1774 is like having more than $30,000.

I think Mrs. Mallard felt trapped in her marriage, a marriage where communication no longer existed. I believe this caused her to feel very alone and restless in her marriage. In the late nineteenth century, women basically had little or no rights. It was thought that women’s sole purpose in society was to marry, have children, and to care for their family and household. Women of this era were not allowed to satisfy their own wants and desires. Therefore, we can assume that Mrs. Mallard got married at a young age. This fact, along with the crumbling of her marriage caused her to feel lost in a world where she knew not even herself. The fact that she was unable to experience life for herself resulted in her yearning desire for independence. These explanations contributed to Mrs. Mallard’s overwhelming enjoyment of her newfound freedom.