Story of an Hour

A detailed Summary of Story of an Hour


At first to me Kate Choplin's "The Story of an Hour" does not seem very interesting. A closer look must be taken in order to see the true meaning of the story. There is more symbolism in this three-page story than in most of the long books that I have read. It is very unlikely that you can find all of the symbolistic words in this story, but most of them definitely stick out.

The first sentence of the story is "knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death." The first thing we are told about the main character is that she has a bad heart. It seems that this is what people see when they look at Mrs. Mallard, someone weak and fragile. I personally get an image of an old lady, which I later learn she is not. Her heart condition shows that she has a hard life, and seems far older than she is.

In response to hearing the 'bad' news, "she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms." Her reaction shows that she is a passionate person, a lot more mournful than I would have thought. While other wives could not except the fact that their husbands were dead, she took to it immedi


"The new spring life" could represent the new life that she could have now that she was a widow. The peddler crying symbolizes her old life and how she felt during the years of her marriage. "There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds...facing her window." The patches through the clouds represent more of a silver lining. Though she did love her husband, him being gone gave her the freedom to do as she wished, not as he commanded.

ately and began grieving right then.

It is only near the end of the story in which I learned Mrs. Mallard's first name was Louise. I believe the author waited, because she was always seen as Brently Mallard's wife, and not as her own person. With him gone, she was a separate entity. She was now "drinking in a very elixir of life." The word elixir means, "a medicine regarded as a cure for all ills." The open window from which she is drinking this elixir symbolizes a window of opportunity.

Feeling empowered and like "a goddess of victory" she left the room and was ready to begin her new life. Feeling like a goddess suggests a feeling of great power and beauty, but being a goddess of victory means that she triumphed over advisory. The adversity. The adversity could be Mr. Mallard. "Brently Mallard..entered, a little travel stained, compo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Choplin's Story, Brently Mallardentered, Brently Mallard's, physical abuse, drinking elixir, goddess victory,

Approximate Word count = 888
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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