The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Have you ever wished that someone in your own family would die so you could become free of their existence? In the short story, "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, this exact scenario happens to Mrs. Mallard. The story, which is set in the early 1900's, tells of the events that happened one day in the Mallard household. On this particular day, it is believed that Brently Mallard had been tragically killed in a train accident. Knowing that Mrs. Mallard had a heart condition, her daughter and one of Brently's friends, Richards, revealed to her the death of her husband in broken sentences (331) . When Mrs. Mallard heard and comprehended the news she immediately went into a state of grief and locked herself inside her bedroom so she could be alone. Her state of grief did not last long though, because soon there after her grief turned to a feeling of freedom and joy because she realized that she was now alone.

Mallard

Kate Chopin in 1894

Mallard

As she exited her room and rejoiced with her sister someone began to open the door. There standing at the door was the supposedly dead Brently Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard saw her husband she passed away due to the shock and disappointment of seeing her husband alive. She did not die due to what the doctors had said because in this case, there was no joy in seeing her husband alive.

In this short story, there are two key pieces of evidence that demonstrate that Mrs. Mallard died of a regular heart failure. When Mrs. Mallard first received the news that her husband was dead, she began to immediately weep. In the text it says, "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed...