The Window In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

In the story of an hour we follow Mrs. Mallard after receiving the news of her husbands death. After receiving the news she closes herself off in her room and sinks into her chair overlooking a big bright window. The window has a big part in the story because it symbolizes many thought and emotions going through Mrs. Mallards Mind.

To begin, the first symbolic meaning one can interpret from the window is when Mrs. Mallard gazes out over the trees and gets lost in the little specks of sunshine peering through the cloud-covered sky. This can be seen as a sign is freedom, and in a sense she can fly away like a bird. Marriages in 1894 were not like they are today, most marriages were arranged by the families, and the wife was expected to be the

homemaker, and keep the house clean and in working order for her husband. Having the role of the homemaker is a very tedious job, and a person could almost feel like a slave without actually being one. Although Mrs. Mallard loved her husband at times as stated in the story, and has mixed feelings on her husbands death. She is a young woman, and now feels slightly happy in a way because she has a sense of weight taken off of her shoulders. That sense of freedom can be seen when the author says “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.” (Chopin)

To continue, the window also offers a sense of hope in her future.

Mrs. Mallard struggles with her emotions after she hears the news about Mr. Mallard, and staring out the window allows her to be able to sort through her thoughts and feelings. As she sinks into the chair overlooking the window she gets a “dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought” (Chopin). Everything going on outside the window in a way signifies all of her thoughts and emotions from the rain that can symbolize Mrs. Mallard’s tears, to the bright spot in the sky signifying a bright new future. In the end this brings a sense of peace and calmness to Mrs. Mallard.

In conclusion, the window helps to calm Mrs. Mallard’s fears about what’s to come in her life, but it also was the death of her. As she sat in the window pondering the news of her husbands passing, she only sheds a tear before feeling slight joy in her heart. If Mrs. Mallard would have taken the time to morn her husband properly, and not been so quick to run away and act selfish about her feelings, she wouldn’t have suffered from a heart attack from the shock when she finds him to still be

alive.