Mallard's Emotion

In Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour, the main character, Louise Mallard, goes through a drastic change in emotion. When presented with the news of her husband’s death at the beginning of the story, her immediate reaction is naturally to grieve, as most do in such an event. However, as the plot progresses, she begins to feel another emotion overcoming her, one that is initially “too subtle and elusive to name.” Eventually, she is able to recognize this feeling as relief. It is only then that she begins to realize how unhappy she was with her marriage the whole time, and revels in the idea of now having the freedom to “live for herself”. The more powerful this feeling of joy becomes, the more clear it is how displeased she had previously been with the state of her life.

At first, she appears to legitimately care about her husband, as when presented with the news of his death, her immediate reaction is to “[weep] at once, with sudden, wild abandonment”. However, later in the story, she reflects that “often she had not” loved him. Either way, it is clear that she is still shaken by the situation, “[knowing] that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death”. By the final sentences, upon discovering her husband is not truly dead, Louise dies of heart disease. Although this is perceived by the other characters to be a result of a “joy that kills”, it is clear to the reader that this is a testament to how excited she truly was at the thought of living life as an unmarried