Story of an Hour

A detailed Summary of Story of an Hour

The author, Kate Chopin, opens the story with the scene in which Mrs. Mallard is about to be informed by her sister, Josephine, of Mr. Mallard's death. "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" (550). At the end of the story, it becomes clear that this sentence foreshadows the story's climax. Chopin lets the reader in on what fate lies ahead for Mrs. Mallard by hinting at what lies ahead, her death, without giving any major information away.

"It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her" (550).

Richards is Mr. Mallard's best friend who hears, twice, of his friend's death due to a railroad disaster. He wisely informs Josephine about the tragedy and insists that she cautiously tell her sister about it. Josephine reluctantly passes on the news to Mrs. Mallard. She was reluctant to tell her sister the news because of Mrs. Mallard's heart problem. Josephine worries that her sister's "weak" heart could not handle the bitter news, but it does.

Mrs. Mallard's awkward attitude after learning of he

When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-- of joy that kills" (551).

"Free! Body and soul Free!" she kept whispering. Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door." "Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long" (551).

Presumably the late Mr. Mallard had treated his wife like a slave, because if he hadn't, his widow would not be wishing to someday become free. Mrs. Mallard confesses that she has a soft spot for her husband. However, she claims her self-assertive personality to be her strongest quality, which surpasses her ability to love.

"She arose in length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom" (551).

As Mrs. Mallard is psyching herself toward her transition, Josephine pleads for her sister's room's door to be opened. Meanwhile, Mrs. Mallard is staring at the sky through her open window (a symbol), day-dreaming about her freedom and exit from her current life into a new other. She believes that there is another life somewhere other than her present one, and she prays for her new world to be a free one. Another irony occurs as Josephine is thinking that her sister is in her room making herself ill. In fact, her sister is celebrating her upcoming rebirth.

"Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been" ( 550).

Ironically, Josephine sees her sister as poised and goddess-like, contradicting Josephine's instinctive expectation. Mrs. Mallard appears graceful and bold as she supports her balance by "clasping" Josephine's waist and walking downstairs with her sister, with Richards awaiting their arrival.

"Some one was op

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Approximate Word count = 1679
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English