The Untold Story

Kate Chopin really goes deep into our mind with this story, "The Story of an Hour." When reading this story, the death of Mrs. Mallard is truly shocking.

In reading this story, I could truly visualize every moment as if I were watching a movie. "The story of an Hour" is filled with emotional events that take place in only an hour. Mrs. Mallard was hit with unexpected news that her husband had been killed in a train accident. Mrs. Mallard's sister, Joesphine, was the one to break the news to her. When receiving this news, she instantly accepted the emotion that flooded over her.

The emotional state that she was in was so exhausting to her body that it seemed to reach into her soul. As time was passing, Mrs. Mallard wanted to feel free from her pain. She fled to her room to be alone to weep, but incredibly, she found peace with the idea that her husband was gone. She made a statement slightly under her breath, "Free, free, free...with a vacant stare and look of terror in her eyes."

Mrs. Mallard knew she would weep again and see her husband's face once she freed her body and soul. I would say that Mrs. Mallard had made some kind of peace with things because she was learning to cope with her husband's death with her family and friends on her side. The shocking moment came when Mr. Mallard came home, without knowledge of the accident, and walked into his home to a wife who believed him to be dead. Once he realized what was going on, it was too late; she had died of a "joyful" heart attack. I would say that this story was shocking because she had made peace with the idea of his death. The author's characterization of Mrs. Mallard was that of someone who had accepted her fate and come to terms with her loss, yet lost her own life in the ironic, climactic conclusion.