... dies. Characters Louise Mallard Her husband is reportedly killed in a train accident. When she hears the news, she secretly became happy because she is now free. Without having any second thoughts of guilt, she became addicted to the new freedom within her reach and pays no attention to her husband's death. She ... been. She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. But she saw beyond that bi...

• Word Count: 2566
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!"" (Paragraph 10). It seemed then that she had died as was free of her human body. She had been set free from the pain and suffering that she had just endured and was going to have to live through for the rest ... tops of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and co...

• Word Count: 794
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... bird, Edna feels trapped and believes that society has imprisoned her. Her marriage to Mr. Pontellier suffocates her and keeps her from being free. At the same time, she remains shut apart from society like the bird in the cage, and different ideas and feelings prevent her from ... who had set their wives free" (108). Robert does not want to do something wild and unacceptable to society. In a situation parallel to that of Edna's, the only bird that understands the parrot is the mockingbird (Reisz) that "[is] whistling its fluty notes upon the breeze with maddening ... , however, the bi...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... 's death. Moments pass, and Mrs. Mallard resigns herself to this new emotion. "When she [abandons] herself a little whispered word [escapes] her slightly parted lips," as she says, "free, free, free" (Chopin 54). As she repeats this word over and over, her pulse quickens, her blood warms, and her body begins to relax. For the first time in her life ... one to live for during [these] coming years; she [will] live for herself" (Chopin 55). Although she is happy in this moment of her newfound freedom and independence, she notes that she will weep again when she sees him at the funeral becau...

• Word Count: 1036
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... was room. The role of the woman was not to be the achiever but to be available to be used by the achiever for his advancement. As Warren notes, "In the American Dream, woman figures not as the dreamer but as an object in the dream" (6). It was strictly for their usefulness to men that ... equal and that the history of mankind was a history of repeated injuries and injustices by men toward women (Wheeler "The History"). Women occupied a position less than free. It was a strange time, full of ungratified aspirations. The majority of women longed to be of some use in the world, but social p...

• Word Count: 3206
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to describe a lovely spring scene that can be seen from Louise's window. The descriptions used now are as far away from death as possible. "The delicious breath of rain...the notes of a distant song...countless sparrows were twittering...patches of blue sky...." All these are beautiful images of life; the reader is quite confused by this most unusual foreshadowing until Louise ... to be rather calm and relaxed. After the author finishes her ironic descriptions, the reader observes as Mrs. Mallard has her subsequent reaction to her husband's death. The widow whispers, "Free, free, free."...

• Word Count: 551
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... 's all right! He could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood, unless it was the mockingbird that hung on the other side of the door, whistling his fluty notes out upon the breeze with maddening persistence- (Beaty 41). The caged parrot will come to symbolize the expectations that society has for Edna. As a woman and mother, she is caged ... falling in love with Robert and will lose all consciousness of the events around her. Edna's spiritual awakening sets her soul free, yet it also serves to isolate her from those she loves. Her love, Robert, is unwilling t...

• Word Count: 2280
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... for the main character. Beyond the solitary armchair and the room with a closed door, there is through the newly opened window a world that Mrs. Mallard has yet to discover. "The notes of a distant song [ ]- (Chopin 177) reach her through the window. Although she cannot see her future, for it is shrouded in mist and fog like the world outside the window ... able to see the "open square before her [ ] the tops of trees [ ] aquiver with new spring life- (Chopin 177). Even though she has not yet been able to "Free! Body and soul free!- (Chopin 178), she is beginning to recognize that there...

• Word Count: 1284
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... was looking out the window at the "tops of the trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life" (Chopin 635). She could also hear the "notes of a distant song which someone was singing" as well as smell the "delicious breath of rain" in the air (635). These images associated with Louise's sensory awakening ... twist. Although the doctors conclude Louise dies from the joy of seeing her husband alive, Chopin hints otherwise. By having Louise realize her bright future as a single woman who was free from the chains of marriage, the sight of her husband was enough to kill her. This is a...

• Word Count: 802
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School