A Story of an Hour

A Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour is a powerful story that regards Mrs. Millard. She is a woman that receives horrible news on her husband’s death in a train wreck accident. On hearing the news, she is devastated and immediately excuses herself from the crowd. She rushes to her bedroom as her attitude changes abruptly. Her life takes a different twist. She is evidently upset about her husband’s death. At the same time, she feels joy and happiness. She is now a “free!” person because of her husband’s sudden demise (Chopin 277 par 11). However, questions can arise whether she was truly upset or not.

Question 1 a

It is true that the story writer made an appropriate choice of word. She implies that the protagonist was indeed troubling in her heart. It should be noted that Mrs. Mallard was in unfruitful and a disrupted marriage. As the story unfolds, her husband becomes an abusive character and mistreats her wife. His actions make his wife become vulnerable to heart diseases. Symbolically, her heart is numb to feelings of a wife towards her husband. Clearly, there is no love in the relationship. As the husband dies in a train accident, Mrs. Mallard’s heart is ironically filled with happiness and joy. Her sudden death due to a heart attack is ironic as well.

Question 1 b

            Knowing the definition of the word ‘afflicted’ does not change my understanding of the story. While I clearly understand the story content, going through the story content is in itself an eye-opener on the on the story’s plot. Therefore, it is hard for me to react differently to the story. 

Question 2

            Louise Mallard is a lonely woman married to an abusive husband. The oppressive societal beliefs on women prompt Mrs. Mallard to be submissive (Chopin 276 par 9). She hails from a poor family hence had little education, if any. She is a housewife and endures her unproductive marriage. Due to the complicated situation of her relationship with his husband, she shuts down her emotional feelings to minimize her sufferings (Chopin 277 par 15). However, as she learns of her husband's death, she is overwhelmed with emotions. She cries at first. On a second thought, she realizes that she is a free person.  Mrs. Millard was once a beautiful person but her woes have worn her down. She is in her early 50s and has a warm personality.

Question 3

Kate Chopin authored and published her story in 1894. This was the time period when females lacked adequate power to respond to male dominance and mistreatment.  Women were confined to a home environment to tend the house and take care of the family. Men, at the time, worked to provide for the family needs. All the limelight was on men as women lived under the shadows of their husbands, brothers, or fathers. Even though the majority of women had feelings and desires, they could not freely express them to their loved ones. Women hardly spoke about their feelings, desires or personal rights. Instead, they were forced to remain silent as they lacked a voice (Chopin 277 par 14).

Question 4

Richard’s actions demonstrate how he has other intentions. There is a high likelihood that on learning of Mr. Mallard’s death, he intends to replace him as Louise’s husband. He initiated the speculation that Louise’s husband is among those dead from the rail accident. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that Richard is the source of all the resultant discord in the story. In fact, his malicious intentions led to a death of his potential lover. Besides, he unsuccessfully tries to block Louise Mallard from noticing his presence, hence a proof of his ill intentions (Chopin 277, par18). 

Question 5

Believing that Louise Mallard would remarry is unreasonable. During the Victorian era, most men mistreated their wives. Mrs. Mallard was aware of negative effects of remarriage. She intended to live as a free woman that can make her own decisions. Therefore, remarriage would be the last thing on her mind. Brently Mallard was possibly at the scene of the accident. It is likely that he was among the train travelers but escaped from the accident unscathed.

In summary, the author intended to demonstrate the problems that women faced during the Victorian era. Mrs. Mallard represents the negative view of marriage. Her changing reaction from numbness to excessive joy demonstrates a newly found freedom, though temporary. While the doctors are convinced she died of a heart attack, the readers understand the symbolic death to mean a heartbreak on learning that her husband was indeed alive and her freedom will not last more than an hour (Chopin 477, par. 20). 

Work Cited

Chopin, Kate. “ The Story of an Hour.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. Shorter 11^th edition. New York: Norton, 2013. 476-77. Print.