The Story of an Hour By Kate Chopin

Abstract
Mrs. Mallard finds out that her husband has died in a railroad accident. This becomes an issue that is hard for her to cope with, but she is accepting of the fact that he is dead. It turns out Brently Mallard never died and everything was okay. Mrs. Mallard died that day from joy, because she had a weak heart.


Journal

“The Story of an hour” is short story that shows sorrow in not only Mrs. Mallard’s life, but also Kate Chopin’s life. This whole story is based on the knowledge that Mrs. Mallard’s husband Brently has been killed in a railroad accident. I think Brently’s character represents Kate’s father in her life. When Kate was four her father died in a railroad accident, which is how Brently Mallard supposedly died. Kate may be writing this story as an expression of hope. She was hoping that her father wasn’t actually dead and that he would come home alive, just like Mr. Mallard. 

                The tone of this story is very sad and happy at the same time. This tone seems ironic, how can there be happiness and sadness in one? Mrs. Mallard experience both of these emotions in this story. She was sad that her soul mate, husband, the one she had spent her life with was dead. This was devastating to her because what would she do the rest of her life? The answer soon was discovered, Mrs. Mallard was free. She didn’t have to worry about anyone but herself. I wonder why Kate would write a story on freedom because she was free all her life. She went through a lot of trauma, but never had to worry about another person except herself. Maybe she wanted to be free of the sorrow and unhappiness that she suffered as a child?

            One of the symbols in this story is a heart, the heart of Mrs. Mallard. She had a weak heart physically, but when she heard her husband was dead she had a weak heart emotionally too. The heart also represented Kate’s heart. She had a weak heart emotionally because she had gone through a lot as a child. She lost her dad, her brother, and her great-grandmother all within a couple years. Kate wrote this story showing how people grieve over lost ones. I think she wanted to show people that you will be sad, but something happy or good will also come from this event.