Story of an Hour

Corinne Graham
Ms. Miller
ENG 113-11WB
28 January 2014
The Heartbeat that Killed
      In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the author sheds light on the struggles of marriage and the feelings of imprisonment found within love. Mrs. Mallard, who has existing heart trouble, is wrongly informed of her husband’s death. Although her initial reaction is to weep, she treats this incident as if she is free from a lifelong sentence of unhappiness. Once Richards tells Mrs. Mallard of the tragedy, she goes alone to her room. As she sits in her chair gazing at the outside world, she starts to come alive through the new spring life that is occurring, such as the blooming flowers, and patches of the blue sky showing through the rain. While her sister Josephine crept outside the door believing her sister was putting herself into danger, Mrs. Mallard begins to let her soul free. She then begins to open the door. She is weakened from her newfound joy and collapses into her sister’s arms; together they walk down the stairs to Richards who is waiting for them at the bottom. The front door opens, and Brently Mallard walks through the door alive and unharmed. The author leaves the ending questionable to whether Mrs. Mallard dies of feeling uncontrollable joy or at the sight of Mr. Mallard and her lost freedom.





Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Literature for Composition: An Introduction to Literature. Eds. Sylvan Barnet. William Burto. William E. Cain. Paris: Pearson, 2014. 57-58. Print.