Commentary on The Story of an Hour Essay

The Story of An Hour

The Story of An Hour was written by Kate Chopin, this story takes place in the late 1800s in the main characters, Mrs. Mallards, house. The short story, The Story of An Hour, involves Mrs. Mallard, her sister Josephine, and her husbands friend Richard. Mrs. Mallards husband was killed in a railroad disaster and her sister Josephine broke the news to her, but took great care due to Mrs. Mallards heart trouble.

The storys main character, Mrs. Mallard, is the victim and the messenger of this story, she is an example of the authors thoughts and feelings in marriage. Mrs. Mallard was a young woman, although she appeared to look much older. Her sister Josephine, who approaches Mrs. Mallard about her husbands death, is very concerned with upsetting her. This illustrates how the family truly views Mrs. Mallard. Richard, her husbands friend, is also concerned about her reaction to this news.

The main conflict of the story is with Mrs. Mallard herself, she is expected to be upset and devastated over her husbands death. She does weep for a moment, but she feels a big sense of freedom soon after. She realizes that although she did love her husband, she also felt very limited and oppressed by him.

The theme of this story is shown in how Mrs. Mallard reacted to the news of her husbands death. Her reaction demonstrates the authors view of marriage of a man and a woman back in those times. Mrs. Mallard didnt realize how she felt so oppressed until the day that she was told her husband was gone, and then she truly knew that she was free. This sense of freedom that she felt was illustrated in a few different ways in the story. One way was in how at the beginning of the story she was referred to as Mrs. Mallard, but after her husbands death, she was referred to as Louis. Also in how she whispered that she was free and stared out her window, with a total different outlook on life. In the end, she finds out that her husband was not killed. He comes back home, she sees him, and she dies of a heart attack.

Through Mrs. Mallard and her experience, the author is truly illustrating her views and thoughts on marriage. The title illustrates how Mrs. Mallard felt alive, for the hour that she thought her husband was dead. This story, although very short, does have some very powerful meaning to it.