In my senior year in high school, i read this short story because we were reading the awakening by Kate Chopin, and it contained this story in it. This short story is about a woman called mrs.mallard who got news of her husband passing away. Instead of this being a story of grief and dealing with the death of someone you're supposed to love dearly, it is a story of a woman who is finally free. The truth of the matter is, that this woman was not happy with her husband. Right away, she accepted the fact that he was dead, and wept immediately which isn't typical behavior. As she was in her room, gazing out the window she noticed the "new spring life" which is a symbol for the start of her new life as a free woman. The "patches of blue sky showing here and there" can be a symbol for her inner self trying to make it's way through. When she whispered the words "free, free, free!" that was her inner life talking. A life she never let out, but was what she always secretly wanted. It seems like she was trapped in her marriage, like she wasn't happy and only stayed with him because it was the right thing to do at the time which makes sense because this story was written in 1864.
Something powerful that she says is "she would live for herself". This is powerful because it means that she wasn't living for herself before. She feels liberated and even says that "she had loved him-sometimes, often she had not" She was truly not happy. Hearing of her husbands death, caused her not grief, but relief, the complete opposite. Instead of her being in complete shock and resistant to accept, she was more than willing to accept because she looked forward to being free. That open window, is her new life. Her husbands death opened a window of freedom for her. Now instead of her wishing life wasn't long, she longed and prayed for a long life where she could enjoy days for herself.
The ending was something unexpected. After she finally gives in to her inner desires, she comes face to face with the brutal reality that crushed her freedom. Instead of being full of joy that her husband is indeed alive, it brings an end to the feelings she was beginning to have. Its kind of ironic, you would think that she died of heart disease- of joy that kills when really she died because she could no longer be free or live her days for herself.
I too think Mrs.Mallard's relief definitely overpowered the grief of her husband's death. That proves to me, she never not loved her husband even though the story says "she had loved him - sometimes." The fact that she died after finding out about him being alive, just shows how that shattered her dream impacting her enough to stop her "troubled heart". His death was probably a dream come true to her since back in 1864, when this short story was written, women weren't treated equally, and during those times, I think, most women wanted some kind of independence. Wanting to "be free".
ReplyDeleteWhen Mrs.Mallard receives news that her husband has passed, she of course begins to grieve. But then she realizes that she's independent. She can be her own person, she doesn't have to live in the shadow of her husband. She becomes overwhelmed with these feelings because a women should be upset that her husband has died and not be happy that she's independent. She whispers the words "free" to herself because she has so many emotions running through her mind. When her husband returns its as if her world came crushing down. His return is like giving a little kid a lollipop and then as soon as the kid takes the wrapper off, you take it away from her. This is how Mrs.Mallard feels. Her freedom and independence is being taken away before she even had time to enjoy it. The last line of the story is " When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease - of joy that kills". I think what this line is trying to say is that the joy she felt of being free and independent is what killed her.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal level, I have seen what it is like for a woman to become her own person after a dramatic crack in her marriage life. My mom was just like Mrs. Mallard. She gave my dad everything, left her own friends for him, and always served him well thinking that it was her duty to make him happy and to treat him like royalty. Of course, growing up in India, my dad thought it was the wife's job to only do as he ordered and nothing less. Recently, my mom found out a secret of my dad's which led her to her own "open window" and "blue skies." She now spends time with her friends, goes to college, and to the gym. Similar to Mrs. Mallard after she found out her husband "died," my mom has also found her own way of living. Living for herself. Although Mrs. Mallard died in the end of the short story, she at least had a small taste of freedom before she took her last breath.
ReplyDeleteThis story hits directly on the writing style of Romanticism, which thrived in the during the 18th century, while also relating to how life for women was back then. Back then, basically lived in their man's shadow and couldn't really express themselves. In Chopin's story, I think that Mrs. Mallard died because of the shock she recieved from realizing that she was free. Chopin's use of imagery and symbols clearly portray the feelings that attacked Mrs. Mallard all at once. I agree with Carina on the quote "she would live for herself" because now she can be Herself. The only bad thing was the shock was too much and stopped her weak heart. If it didn't, she could have reborn herself, a new woman.
ReplyDeleteThe Story of an Hour was situated in the patriarchal era, where women were viewed as inferior to men. In this case, Mrs. Mallard was treated like a "servant" rather than a wife. While she was grieving her husband's death, she looked out the window and felt a sense of freedom. Chopin wrote, "the delicious breath of rain was in the air." Without a little rain, there is no rainbow. The rain symbolized the time frame in which she grieved her husband. The aftermath is a rainbow, which symbolizes her freedom from her "servitude". I agree with Carina; I believe Mrs. Mallard died because she could no longer be free, but also due to her mixed emotions. Since she did love her husband, I feel that her emotions were too overwhelming. When seeing her husband, she felt overjoyed and disempowered at the same time ultimately, causing her death.
ReplyDeleteI think this story shows the importance of happiness. We all have an inner happiness that is meant to be kept to ourselves. Mrs. Mallard let her husband steal away her happiness. Not literally, but in a metaphorical form of sorts. From the beginning she mentions her heart problems and this gives the reader a hint that she is emotionless. When she dreamed that her husband died she felt a sense of freedom but once she realized he was back, Mrs. Mallard's freedom and happiness was taken away from her. This eventually led to her death and which ironically gave her the freedom she was looking for, away from her husband.
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't dream of freedom? Mrs. Mallard had every right to think of her freedom when her husband had died. As bad as that may seem, women in the 1800s did not have any freedom and whatever they did do was under their husband's identity. Of course Mrs. Mallard had grieved the death of her husband, but when she realized that she was free she began to celebrate, in a sense. It was not that she did not love her husband because she did; it was the fact that she had finally gained a sense of independence. I also believe those blue patches of sky through the clouds are a sign of a new life and new hope. There is hope that she will accomplish things and get credit for it on her own, or even the fact that she can have a whole new beginning to life. At the end I believe rather than joy, she died of shock. How can a dead person show up inside your house? The shock was probably also related to the fact that she had just lost her freedom and realized she would not be able to live the life she wanted to with her husband back. The ending was shocking and very ironic because most women would be happy to have their husband back but that was not the case with Mrs. Mallard
ReplyDeleteI'm still kind of convinced that Mrs. Mallard was dreaming. I believed that she was so grief struck that she began to experience a fever and it didn't help that she had a "heart affliction". While in her feverish state, she began to daydream almost like a pleasant "last thought", something to think about to ease the pain of her loss. She imagined a world where she could experience freedom or taste it even for a moment in time. She may not have gotten to physically experience it but it was a delicious thought that could last forever. she even said so herself, that she prayed "that life might be long (Chopin 3)." I felt like she knew that her life was going to be short-lived but she hoped and prayed that it wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteThe ending kind of confused me and brought me to my conclusion that she was daydreaming. Her sister told her to open the door and so in the text Mrs. Mallard supposedly gets up and opens it, she also grips the side of sister to make way down the stairs. However, Mrs. Mallard's sister, Josephine couldn't resist crying out for the loss of her sister just moments before Brently Mallard walked in. This twist of event made me believe that she was already on her death bed and she was possessed with the idea of having freedom and having "no one to live for her duriong those coming years; (Chopin 2)".
The story is a very well written articulate account of a woman's circumstances in the late 1800's. The use of the heart is meant to symbolize the freedom that a woman know's she should be able to enjoy but can't possibly imagine due to societal constraints. Mrs. Mallard knows deep down she is her own person and should be entitled to the same liberty as men however if she were to act on her urges she would shunned by society. The death of her husband is a rare glimpse into a more civilized culture where she gets to embrace her individual identity. In many ways she is sad about the passing of someone who she shared time and memories with. Conversely, he inadvertently oppressed her by being her identity and image. The diction of the poem also expresses a sense of liberation on a personal level. She sees another man with whom she is attracted and the imagery of a window is used. The window is a surefire sign of freedom. The institution of marriage is based around partnership and not passion. The story ends abruptly when Mrs. Mallard's freedom is stripped from her again. There was no way to readjust to an oppressed world after having so much freedom.
ReplyDeleteThe Story Of An Hour clearly demonstrates the role of women in the 1800's. The story starts off by giving us the imagery of a weakened heart, which foreshadows the ending. After finding out her husband dies Mrs Mallard is struck by grief, however the excitement in her new found freedom soon outweighs the sadness she faces from the death of her husband. For the first time in her life she is actually free nobody else's will is forcing hers. She can finally live how she wants. However when she finds out her husband isn't dead she dies. I think this ending represents the ultimate escape from everything making her truly free.
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