A Taste Of Independence

The Story of an Hour

In "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin shows us how unjust life can be. While one moment we think that life can not get any better, minutes go by as we are reassured that life is in fact not all it is cracked up to be. Chopin cleverly twists the events of the story to please any pessimist. Louise Mallard tastes happiness, but never truly gets a chance to digest it.

At the very beginning of the story, we learn that Louise has a heart condition. However, the choice of words is an indication that there might be some other meaning involved--"heart trouble" (32). Although the specifics of her trouble are not given, we are to assume that she will not do well in stressful situations. "Great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death" (32). As her sister Josephine gently delivers the bad news to her, Louise's reaction is different from the norm. "She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms" (33). We are told that generally a new widow will immediately dismiss the idea of her husband's death. Louise accepts the news quickly, abnormally quickly. Should we assume that something is wrong with this picture?

Chopin takes us into Louise's room and sets the scene for us. However, the descriptions used to describe the setting do not seem appropriate for the situation. A death has occurred. Louise is grief-stricken. She is physically exhausted, but she has "a comfortable, roomy armchair" to sink her self into and an open window to watch the tops of trees sway in the breeze. She can taste the spring showers. She listens to faint lyrics of a distant song and watches sparrows all around. (33) Everything described seems all too colorful for such a somber day. It should also be noted that Louise sees this through "an open window" (33). Is this implying that she is seeing something that she does not have within herself? Could the open window be some sort of invitation for something?

Through this mixture of visual and audible stimulation, Louise is put into a dreamlike state where thought-process is near absent-- "a suspension of intelligent thought" (33). While in this hypnosis, Louise is unable to think clearly. On the contrary, she can barely think at all, but she can feel. She feels something coming for her. Anxious but curious, Louise awaits what is coming to possess her. This force soon gives her a sense of clarity. She finally lets the words loose from her lips: "Free, free, free!" (34). As she regains control, Louise has a breath of new life. "Her pulse beats fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body" (34).

It is suggested in the text that Louise is overjoyed by her husband's death--"a monstrous joy that held her" (34). We question whether she had a good life with Mr. Mallard, but we read that he was a kind husband. Why would she be so ecstatic about the loss of her love? She was