Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"

Towards the beginning of this story the main character Mrs. Louise Mallard learns that her husband has been killed by a railroad disaster. At first she responds as I believe anyone would, she immediately begins weeping. After a brief spell of crying she promptly locks herself in her room. You can tell at this point something is about to happen to Louise. As she sits in her room alone observing the beautiful things outside, she feels a wave of emotion come over her. This is where you can first sense that she is not responding to her husband’s death as most would. At first she tries to fight the wave, but she is no match. Suddenly she becomes elated; at this moment Mrs. Mallard realizes she is now FREE. Some might take this to mean that her life was miserable with her husband and that she would no longer have to endure the pain of this man. I believe it to mean that she no longer has anyone holding her back from the things she desires for, no one to answer to, or even take care of. Given the context of how the news of Mr. Mallards death was received, the way in which he died, and other details, the setting of this story is probably sometime during the late 1800’s. When women had barley any rights, they were expected to marry a man that could provide, regardless of weather they loved one another or not. You can tell that she wasn’t exactly happy about the death of her husband, but the mere idea of a second chance at a life she wanted but thought would never exist by the author writing, “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.”. It seems as if the story has hit its climax and is about to wrap up when Chopin throws in a surprise. As Mrs. Mallard comes out of her room, with a fresh new look on life, someone was opening the front door with a key. As everyone knows the only person that could be is Mr. Mallard himself. He did not even know of the accident that he supposedly died in. Immediately after Mrs. Mallard sees her husband alive, she dies from what everyone thinks is the joy and disbelief of seeing him, when it was more than likely from the agony and realization that she was never going to be free until death it’s self.