"The Story of an Hour"

"The Story of an Hour" was very interesting, namely due to the major plot twist in the short story. Chopin starts the story talking about a "woman with heart disease" which automatically made me think the main character was an old woman. However, later in the story she explains that Mrs. Mallard is actually a young woman dreading her relationship with her perished husband.

It is easy to tell the social situations of the time the story is set. At the time, men had the upper hand in relationships. Women would very typically be viewed as inferior, and were under the control of their husband. The author many times references in a negative way about this practice, and Mrs. Mallard’s unhappiness with her inequality. Through reading the story, it seems as though Chopin is a feminist. Although the story is written about Mrs. Mallard, it also seems that it could be Chopin talking about a personal experience or disgust for the social situations of the times, using Mrs. Mallard as a vessel.

Early in the story, it can be deciphered that Mrs. Mallard is unhappy with her marriage. After she finds out about her husband’s death, the author makes it very clear that this is a positive thing for Mrs. Mallard. There are references to “spring coming” and this typically signifies when people feel free from being inside, or trapped.

I began to feel bad for Mrs. Mallard, for her unhappiness. If her husband had not died, she would be with a man for the rest of her life that she did not love, and she dreaded it. References were made many times to gloomy relationship, such as “gray and dead.” It seemed like she tried to convince herself sometimes that it actually was not as bad as she thought, like when she said,” yet she had loved him—sometimes.”

It was a complete shock that Mr. Mallard arrived at the end of the story. His arrival completely crushed the joy and freedom that she had just experienced. It seems fitting for her to pass away; now she is out of the misery that would have loomed over her for the rest of her life. I enjoyed reading Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” due to the writing style and major plot twist.