Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis Essay

784 Words2 Pages

Professor Stephanie Hollenbeck
English 1102
08 November 2015

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin

At the beginning of “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard is met with the devastating news that her husband has been tragically killed in a railroading disaster. Her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend, Richards, take great care in delivering the news, since Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition. As soon as she receives the news, she is immediately overcome with grief and soon leaves the company of her sister to reflect on her thoughts alone. She stares out the window reflecting on the activities taking place outside on a dreary day. She feels physically exhausted by the emotional burden that was placed upon her just moments before. The theme …show more content…

Mallard very long to figure out what the death of her husband would mean for her future. Her husband’s death ends her period of denial, and sparks a quest for identity. She is finally free, and her life will surely have meaning from that point on. “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" (“Chopin”). She knew that she would still grieve the passing of her husband, but much like looking far into the distance at the patches of blue sky on that rainy day; she was looking out, years into the future, at what her life of freedom and happiness would look like. She is finally free to live as she sees fit and completely ecstatic that she will no longer be a “creature” that her husband can control. "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering” …show more content…

Mallard continues to envision a life of freedom when her sister begs to be let into the room with her. Her sister, no doubt, suspects that Mrs. Mallard is going to make herself physically ill because of her grief, which is not the case at all. "Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window” (“Chopin”). Mrs. Mallard is reflecting on the days that she will be experiencing and enjoying alone. “Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. 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” (“Chopin”). She alludes, yet again, to the fact that her marriage had her trapped in nothing short of a nightmare, and expresses the joy and excitement that awaits her on her quest for her new

Open Document