... help the reader understand the fate of the main character, Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Mallard is a woman who at first shows difficulty in taking the news of her husband's death. Although, throughout the story, she is described to be very excited about living life without her husband. In the end, ... her soul,"" (Chopin 261). Going along with the story, this statement looks as though it is merely describing the weight upon her after the news of her husband's death. After finishing the story and reading it again, the statement looks more like an ironic statement about how physical exhaustion ... ...

• Word Count: 4614
• Approx Pages: 18
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... husband, Mrs. Mallard experiences a tremendous shock and 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 ... Brently's friend who learned about the train accident and Brently's death at the newspaper office, and was present when Josephine told Louise about the sad news. Setting The range and length of the story is very limited. The story takes place in an hour, so the character...

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

... I"m not exactly sure why she does either. Josephine has a main part in this story, because she is the one who has to tell her sister tragic news about her brother-n-law and this to me is a climax in the story. "It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences, veiled hints ... office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed" (KM 71). The shock of hearing such tragic news is unexplainable to me. The only other way I can put it is by saying that there are a thousand things running through a person's head w...

• Word Count: 1389
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... Mallard was a married woman. She loved her husband, but at times, she did not. Louis Mallard was a woman already facing heart problems. Taking that in factor, the news of her husband's death, would be a great shock to her. At least that's what her sister, Josephine and Richard, friend of Mr. Mallard, assumed. "She did ... in Mrs. Mallard's life. Reading these points in the story makes the reader realize Mrs. Mallard is sad to hear the news of her husband's death. The truth is, Mrs. Mallard, after hearing the news of her husband's death quickly runs upstairs to her room. "She would have ...

• Word Count: 840
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and self-love. Louise, who is the main character in the story, is informed that her husband has died in a railroad accident. Having received this horrible news, Louise grieves, then locks herself in her room to be alone, allowing herself to be taken over by the realization of a newly found independence. Louise no ... women. Continuing her bite into the apple, Louise comes to see that she was unhappy in her marriage, which showed in her unusual reaction to the news of her husband's passing. Louise heard the story like other women hear when they lose a husband, but, "She did not hear the...

• Word Count: 1871
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... by the opening sentence when Chopin writes, "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard [is] afflicted with a heart trouble, great care [is] taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death" (Chopin 54). Because of her weakened heart her husband's friend, Richards, wants to be there when she receives the ... tender friend" (Chopin 54). Richards enlists the help of Mrs. Mallard's sister Josephine to assist in presenting the tragic news to Mrs. Mallard. Although the narrator initially presents Mrs. Mallard as weak and fragile, she does not react to the news of her husband's deat...

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

... main character, Louise Mallard is introduced to us as a woman with heart trouble. So the other character takes care not to shock her too much as they brought her the news of her husband's sudden death due to an accident at work. "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its ... significance."" (Chopin 1). She accepts the news immediately, and weeps accordingly. A woman who is more satisfied with her marriage would probably not accept the news. After Louise heard the news of her husband's death, she brings herself to a room, and t...

• Word Count: 1313
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In "The Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin, the main character Mrs. Mallard, was gently broken the news that her husband has passed away in a very tragic accident. Mrs. Mallard is, in a way, being sheltered from the tragedy that it is. ... rebirth that is awaiting her. The tops of the trees signify the new life that is anticipating. The breath of rain symbolizes the cleansing and new growth that the news has brought her. Symbolism is also used in the quote "there stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed ... extreme she goes to can eventually le...

• Word Count: 526
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... special attention. Early on in the story Louise described with such qualities, a "great [deal of] care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death" (573). The news of her husband's death was told to her by her sister "in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half knowing" (573). Both lines give the impression ... that women in Louise Mallard's position were treated as fragile objects that could not bear to be tainted by terrible news. Another example occurs when the Mallards' close friend, Richards, rushes over to comfort Louise. Richards "h...

• Word Count: 938
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... ordinary housewife who has a heart condition. When her husband dies in a train wreck, her sister Josephine and her husband's friend Richards rush to her to break the news as gently as possible. When the news is broken to Louise, she immediately burst into tears and clutches her sister. After Louise calms down, she goes to her room to be by herself. She ... once, with sudden, wild abandonment in her sister's arms."(Chopin 444) There are two key factors at this point of the story one is that Louise Mallard readily accepts the news of husband's death, and the other is that she embraces a f...

• Word Count: 686
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... are suddenly thrust into a completely different way of thinking? Such is the case of the central character in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour." Louise Mallard, in hearing the news of her husband's tragic death then subsequent revelation of its fallacy, finds herself quickly moving from grief, through a sense of newfound freedom, and finally into the despair of the loss ... of that freedom. After learning of her husband's death in a railroad disaster, Mrs. Mallard sinks into a deep state of grief, as one would be expected to do upon receiving such news. She weeps uncontrollably until...

• Word Count: 577
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... essential to the comprehension of the short story. "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death- (Chopin, 1). Chopin immediately begins the story with inciting action, the death of Mrs. Mallard's husband. She then takes a step back to describe the actual situation " ... ;who broke the news, who else is present, and how Mrs. Mallard's husband "died-. As soon as the news is revealed to Mrs. Mallard, she instantaneously wept uncontrollably in her sister's arms. Mrs. Mallard then ...

• Word Count: 637
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... this story does turn into an ironic one. "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husbands death" (Paragraph 1). At first, this appears as foreshadowing allowing readers to ponder whether or not she will die when she is broken the ... news. After she ran up to her room and locked herself in, suicide was a question. Would she be unable to live without her husband? At one point, it did not seem ... seems very peculiar. Her husband died and now she has feelings of "monstrous joy". The charact...

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

In the 1894 story, "The story of an Hour", Kate Chopin appeals to the reader's sympathy, when the lead character, Mrs. Mallard, receives the news of her husbands "tragic death". Even though Mrs. Mallard loved her husband, once the wave of grief passed she began to daydream of her life as a "free" woman. When her ... to the reader's senses. Mrs. Mallard was conveyed as different from most women by not being "with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance" (3), when referring to her reaction to the news of her husbands death. The "storm of grief" (3) as she wept, shows Mrs. Mallards sud...

• Word Count: 562
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... a train accident." (Katherine 3) Mrs. Louise Mallard's emotional state goes from one end of the spectrum to the other in only an hour. She is upset when she first heard the news but by the time she comes out of her room she has already moved on to acceptance. Even though Louise was saddened by her husband's death she was elated at ... seemed to reach into her soul" (Chopin 1). These show how deep her feelings for her husband really went. She was so upset by the news that it weakened her physically. Even though she was devastated by the news a new feeling came over her. She began to look...

• Word Count: 815
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a train accident." (Katherine 3) Mrs. Louise Mallard's emotional state goes from one end of the spectrum to the other in only an hour. She is upset when she first heard the news but by the time she comes out of her room she has already moved on to acceptance. Even though Louise was saddened by her husband's death she was elated at ... seemed to reach into her soul" (Chopin 1). These show how deep her feelings for her husband really went. She was so upset by the news that it weakened her physically. Even though she was devastated by the news a new feeling came over her. She began to look...

• Word Count: 815
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a train accident." (Katherine 3) Mrs. Louise Mallard's emotional state goes from one end of the spectrum to the other in only an hour. She is upset when she first heard the news but by the time she comes out of her room she has already moved on to acceptance. Even though Louise was saddened by her husband's death she was elated at ... seemed to reach into her soul" (Chopin 1). These show how deep her feelings for her husband really went. She was so upset by the news that it weakened her physically. Even though she was devastated by the news a new feeling came over her. She began to look...

• Word Count: 814
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a train accident." (Katherine 3) Mrs. Louise Mallard's emotional state goes from one end of the spectrum to the other in only an hour. She is upset when she first heard the news but by the time she comes out of her room she has already moved on to acceptance. Even though Louise was saddened by her husband's death she was elated at ... seemed to reach into her soul" (Chopin 1). These show how deep her feelings for her husband really went. She was so upset by the news that it weakened her physically. Even though she was devastated by the news a new feeling came over her. She began to look...

• Word Count: 814
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Kate Chopin, the death of Mrs. Mallard's husband symbolically sets her free and opens her eyes to a world she was once blind to. Upon hearing the news of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard receives the news the way any wife is expected to. She weeps uncontrollably in the arms of her sister, and stricken with grief leaves the room to go upstairs ... . The truth behind Mrs. Mallard's death is that she died from the pain of bondage she would have to endure, at her husband's will, leaving her a joyless life. Ultimately, the news of her husband's death was a catalyst for an eye opening reactio...

• Word Count: 621
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... at the end when it turns out Mr. Mallard is actually alive. When Mrs. Mallard sees him, she almost instantly dies. This is ironic because both people that broke the news about Mr. Mallard's death took extra care to avoid giving her a heart attack since "Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble" (Chopin). But in the end it was the ... news of her husband's survival that killed her. This is not what most people would expect. In our society, we have this idea about marriage and all of its glory, but ... , how it is conducted, who conducts it and how it has remained (although other ...

• Word Count: 932
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... them also as the enemy. It wasn't until she received information of her son's death that her behavior changed dramatically. At first it describes her as being overwhelmed by the news. No real emotion at first, as if she is letting reality set in, and then her emotions take over and she begins to cry as she tries to visualize her ... to shake off, and felt more like prisoners than citizens in their own time. In the story, Kate Chopin expresses the freedoms that are now at her feet with the news of her husband's death. She expressed many of the feelings that a woman might think if she was...

• Word Count: 2584
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... husband; Brently Mallard, and her husband's friend; Richards. The story begins with Richards finding Brently's name among the list of "killed" in a railroad disaster, he then takes the news to the widow, Mrs. Mallard. Even though she was initially sad, Mrs. Mallard soon began to feel a sense of freedom. But her new found freedom didn't last long because she ... to her room alone" (Chopin). Here we see Mrs. Mallard performing the role of a good wife, staying at home as her husband goes to work and crying when the news of his death is brought to her. What I found even more interesting is ...

• Word Count: 954
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Story of an Hour Chopin uses the physical setting to symbolically foreshadow Mrs. Mallards happiness at the new of her husbands death. When walking into her room after getting the news, Mrs. Mallard sees a comfortable, roomy armchair. (Chopin) This description symbolizes that she is relaxed and comfortable with her husbands death and she has room to breathe. Sitting in her arm ... was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky (Chopin) This symbolizes that Mrs. Mallard was focusing on the bright future, rather than on the cloudy news, of her husbands death, while looking ...

• Word Count: 514
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... had not" (107). In addition, the title is an example of foreshadowing because it not only depicts time, but it also anticipates that the events to follow, from the news of Mrs. Mallard's husband's death, the reaction and finally, the unexpected death of Mrs. Mallard, will all take place within the span of an hour. Another interesting use of foreshadowing ... Chopin's most obvious use of this technique, "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death" (106). It becomes clearly eviden...

• Word Count: 1729
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... want to, not out of a sense of duty. I completely agree win Dan Shen "The narrative is regarded as a positive representation of a woman's desire for freedom from patriarchal oppression at the news of her husband's death in a railway accident."(118) Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" was about the idea of women being free from marriage and not doing what ... "(295), " Kathleen B. Durrer: A Freudian Psychoanalytic critic might respond to this sentence by arguing that Louise's death was caused by her tremendous guilt at the pleasure she had experienced at the news of her husband's death."(111)...

• Word Count: 1184
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School