The Story of an Hour

The story that I chose was the “The Story of an Hour”. The reason I chose this story is because I feel that it really touches the heart and makes you think twice about things in life. The character I chose was Mrs. Mallard. The story focuses on her and her revelation, but I also feel that she is a spokes woman for the women of her time. The tone of the story ranges but to sum it up in one word, it would be bittersweet.

Mrs. Mallard is this young lovely lady that has been in a marriage that was arranged and is not happy. She hasn’t been happy from the beginning, but back at the beginning of the 19th century women could not get divorce, it was simply not allowed. So, she did everything she was supposed to, she was a good wife and she only maintained her life, she never lived it. When Mrs. Mallard finds out that Mr. Mallard is gone, she is sad and surprised.

She feels afraid yet free and alive. Afraid of what the future holds and being on her own, yet free and alive to be without her husband. In the story Mrs. Mallard states, “There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window” (Chopin). This statement is so powerful. Her freedom now is that blue sky and it was just the beginning, soon there would be bigger patches of blue sky and more happiness in her life.

In the story, where it says “What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” (Chopin) It is so powerful, yet so sad, because she has lived in this marriage so long so unhappy and it is amazing to see how wonderful