Two Faced Love (from the story of an hour)

A detailed Summary of Two Faced Love (from the story of an hour)

The sound of the heavy steel scrapping against the rock seemed to drown out the harmonious screams of hundreds of people. The train, now on its side, skid uncontrollably toward the valley cliff. If only the conductor had seen the break in the train line, he may have been able to react in time. Unfortunately, it's too late for that now, and in four seconds the three hundred ton train would be launched over the cliff, and fall to its watery grave in the valley below. As Mrs. Mallard received the news of her husband's death the previous visions began to cloud her head. However the true question is, how did Mrs. Mallard feel about her husband's death? In "The Story of an Hour", Kate Chopin tells the story of how Mrs. Mallard reacts when she hears the news of her husband's death. Mrs. Mallard's personality seems to play a dual role. On one side she portrays a loving and caring wife who is heart broken by the news of the death of her husband. On the other hand, she also portrays a woman who, when informed of her husband's death, simply sheds a tear and then fantasizes of her new found freedom which comes with his death. The question is which one of these personalities represents how Mrs. Mallard really feels about th

Mrs. Mallard's so called loving personality is simply a cover to conceal her true dark feelings of greed and self-regard. Analyzing the line "she sank, pressed down by the a physical exhaustion"(13), one must ask the question, why would Mrs. Mallard be physically exhausted? The only logical explanation is that she put a lot of effort into what she is doing. Thus Mrs. Mallard's physical exhaustion is as a result of the vast amount of effort that she put into pretending she was disheartened by the death of her husband. The story goes on to iterate that "beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome"(13). It is quite clear that that Mrs. Mallard is happy with the death of her husband. Her selfish and greedy personality is anxious to experience the years to come, in which she will be "Free! Body and soul Free!"(14)

The Irony of this story was that Mrs. Mallard's husband wasn't really dead. He was perfectly fine and came home that evening. What takes place next is even more disturbing than Mrs. Mallard's actions. Instead of being overwhelmed with extreme joy to see her husband, Mrs. Mallard dies "of heart disease - of the joy that kills"(14). Most heart attacks may either come suddenly or induced by an extreme shock or fear.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 902
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English