Story Of An Hour :: essays research papers

The Story of an Hour depicts a single hour in Mrs. Mallard life, in which the lady who has a weak heart experiences the brief joy of freedom after hearing that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident.Mrs. Mallard initial reaction, upon hearing of her husband death, is non outlying(prenominal) from what readers expect she is deeply grieved, weeps and wants to be left alone. However, during the hour she spends alone in her room, her state of mind changes dramatically. Sitting in the armchair motionlessly, she sees spring trees from the open window, smells sublimate air after the gentle rain, hears a faint scarce pleasurable song, even the patched clouds outside seem to be dispersing decently in the warm and powerful sunshine eventually. All these features imply that an unconscious conjure in her heart is quietly but quickly expanding. At first, she feels something is climax her, something almost tangible, which she is not sure about t was too crafty and elusive to name. 71) However, from that moment on, her weeping ith sudden, wild abandonment disappears, he ramp of grief goes away, she is turning to the situation where she has longed for. ree, free, free 71) The first voice of defy breaks out after those tedious, miserable years. Now she realizes the feeling approaching her and possessing her occupies her wide-cut soul and body his possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being. Free Body and soul free 72) These unbelievably cornerstone words show her enormous hunger for freedom, her strong wish to be herself over again. Her husband sudden death has made her lifetime emotional bait come to an end, and she can be as free as a man now.On the other hand, Mrs. Mallard may cry again for the loss of her oving husband not only because of her gender role in the society, but for he still loves her and she herself had loved him as well. Moreover, the story does not tell us whether Mr. Mallard is an abusive or irresponsible husband, but this couple certainly strives for maintaining their unsatisfactory marriage. Besides, no love or credential can compensate for a lack of control over her profess existence (Skaggs, 53), let alone the fact that there is hardly whatever love in that fragile relationship.