The Story of an Hour

I really enjoyed reading "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. This story is about the reaction a wife has to the news about the death of her husband and the emotions she goes through. The protagonist Mrs. Mallard, is at first struck with grief when she is told her husband is dead. While she sits in a room by herself she comes to a realization that it is a blessing instead. In paragraph five Chopin describes the surroundings of Mrs. Mallard as she looks out the window. "She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life"(193). She could hear someone singing in the distant and hear sparrows chirpping. "There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds" (193). These statements are foreshadowing the new outlook on life she comes to realize. These are all pleasant things occuring around her. The new life of the trees represents her new life. The sounds of birds chirpping and someone singing are signs of happiness. In paragraph seven she has a "suspension of intelligent thought"(193). She becomes overcome with joy when she realizes the freedom she has from her husband. Later on she states "it was only yesterday she thought with a shudder that life might be long"(194). This shows the differences between how her state of being was and how it is now. Just yesterday she was dreading having to live a long life. If I could pick one passage that interprets the human condition it would be "There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistance with which men and women belive they have a right to impose on private will upon a fellow creature"(194). I think this is a strong statement that summarizes the story well. It represents how life was in those times. It shows how women had to answer to men and were not able to live thier own lives. There were many inequalities between men and women. Mrs. Mallard felt trapped in her life, being a wife not an individual. She had no joy or excitement to live. When her husband shows up and is found to be alive still her new freedom is quickly taken away and she dies. "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills"(194).