Story Of An Hour

The Mystery of Love

In the short story, The Story of An Hour, by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard found out from her husband's friend Richards that her beloved husband died in a railroad disaster. Mrs. Mallard reacted with instant tears in her sister's arms. Although Mrs. Mallard seemed to be sympathizing, she appeared to be acting rather stoic about her husband's death. She was calm and motionless sitting in an armed chair letting reality set in and accepting that her husband had died. As she began to look beyond his death, the sky and her life seemed to be brightening up, as the first day of spring. It seemed as if her life was changing from a dark and gloomy place to a happy and peaceful place. But as she was seeing the bright and peaceful place, her emotions and heart were trying to fight back and see the gloomy past while feeling depressed about her husband. Under her breath she kept chanting, "free, free, free!" She was relaxed and didn't find the need to keep chanting those very few words. She was telling herself that she was free from marriage and free to be herself for once. She seemed to always be going with the flow, taking everything in, and only loving her husband sometimes. But now that her husband was dead, she could be herself and live her life. As she came out of the room to greet her sister at the top of the stairs, they both walked down the staircase arm in arm to see her supposedly dead husband opening the front door. Mrs. Mallard clasped at her sister's waist and they fell together down the stairs.

Mr. Mallard, who was alive, stood still and shocked to see Richards trying to hide his dead wife. The doctors said she died of heart disease. Mrs. Mallard was acting stoic towards the fact that her husband was dead and she thought she was free and could be herself. I think she had the heart attack because she could not believe that her