Literary Essay on "A Story of an Hour"

“The Story of An Hour” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young nineteenth-century woman, Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive. Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the reader to cogitate a hidden meaning weaved into Kate‘s short story. Chopin had an idea that women felt confined in their marriages, and the idea is brought out through the protagonist’s initial reaction, excessive joy, and new perspective of the world following the upsetting news. The first example of the theme arises when the protagonist “wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment” (Chopin 1); Mrs. Mallard is showing that she is complacent to her marriage. Her reaction, to the news, was extreme because she felt that was the normal way to react. The character is confined to the expected response of such tragic news; her feelings of joy are not instantaneous which initially exemplifies the main theme. As she retreats to her bedroom, she sinks into a “comfortable, roomy armchair” (Chopin 1). The reader senses something to be wrong by the author’s portrayal of the chair; a newly widowed woman would not experience solace from a simple piece of furniture. Mrs. Mallard clearly felt relieved by the armchair. The second example arises when Mrs. Mallard sits in her chair dreadfully staring out at the world waiting for something “too elusive to name” (Chopin 1) to come out of the clouds. She did not know it was the forbidden joy her life lacked. As Mrs. Mallard felt the joy of independence engulfing her conscience, she tries to “beat it back with her will” (Chopin 2). The character was not accustomed to her newly gained freedom; therefore, she felt opposed to the emotion because she never before experienced those types of feelings. She reluctantly succumbs to her overpowering emotions before whispering “free,