Though Chopin relates Mrs. Mallard's story, she does not do so in first person but rather through a narrator's voice. However, the narrator is not simply an observer. The narrator knows, for example, that Mrs. Mallard, for the most part, did not love her husband: “...she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not”(257). It is obvious that the narrator knows more than can be physically observed. Chopin, however, never tells the reader what Mrs. Mallard is feeling. Instead, the reader must look into Mrs. Mallard's actions and words in order to understand what

During her marriage, it is apparent that Mrs. Mallard was held back from much of her ambitions in life: “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression...." (257). Through her appearance, Mrs. Mallard is seen as held back because there are no marks of adventure or thrill present across her face. When Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband's death, she begins to realize that there will "be no powerful will bending her...." (257). There will be no husband who believes he has the "...right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature" (257). She realizes that her life is now hers to live and that she is free do anything and everything she ever wanted with out a man there to hold her down. Despite these feelings, Mrs. Mallard acknowledges that her husband was loving and did care for her. “Brently, had only ever looked at Mrs. Mallard with love” (257). This implies that Mr. Mallard was not a bad man; he simply believed that it was his right, and perhaps his obligation as a husband, to direct Mrs. Mallard in everything she did. When Mrs. Mallard learned of her husband's death, she realizes that he will no longer be there to repress her; there will be no one there to direct her will. Then, in a crushing blow, everything she has just realized and begun to look forward to is stolen from her grasp.

When Mrs. Mallard walks down the stairs with her sister, she carries a “...feverish triumph in her eyes” (258). The front door opens, however, and her hu

Some topics in this essay:
Mallard Mallard, Story Hour”, Louise Mallard, Sadly Mallard, Chopin Story, husband's death, death mallard, mallard husband, 257 mallard, Story Written, husband's death mallard, hope freedom gone, learns husband's, mallard walks, mallard learns, learns husband's death, learns husband, freedom gone, front door,