Freedom In The Story Of An Hou Essay -- essays research papers

Freedom in “The Story of an Hour';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mrs. Mallard’s overwhelming response of “free, free, free!'; upon hearing of her husband’s death reflects the attitude of many nineteenth century women. During this time, highly restrictive gender roles forbade women to live as they saw fit. In “The Story of an Hour'; Kate Chopin allows her audience to envision the moment that Mrs. Mallard is able to shed the bondage of marriage that was forced upon her. This was Mrs. Mallard’s chance to actually live life on her own terms. Not on the terms prescribed to her by her husband. After this revelation on her behalf, the outcome of the story is both ironic and tragic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon hearing the news of Brently’s death Mrs. Mallard, who is afflicted with a heart condition, reacts with sadness at first, grieving with “wild abandonment'; but shortly afterward seeks solitude to assess what has happened. The location where she seeks isolation is important. She retreats to her bedroom in a comfortable armchair, indicating that this is a place where she feels safe. It is here that Mrs. Mallard seems to have found a way to rectify what she thought wrong in her life. Mrs. Mallard then realizes in a rush of emotion and relief that she is “Free! Body and soul free!'; She views the world with a fresh outlook: one where she will be her own person, answering only to herself. For a brief moment the reader is able to see through to how she is truly feeling, her emotional release apparent when she sat “with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair...'; She is overwhelmed with freedom, opening her arms to it, letting it e nvelope both her body and her soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While this realization is occurring, a somewhat strange thing is happening outside. Usually when a character dies, the weather becomes dark, gloomy and foreboding. In this particular story this is not the case. The natural world actually mirrors Mrs. Mallard’s feelings. The “trees were all a quiver with the new spring life'; and “there were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds.'; This shows how she is seeing her life as having a refreshed new appearance. Yes, Mrs. Mallard remembers her husband with kind... ...ed and composed, unaware of the train wreck and of Mrs. Mallard’s transformation that occurred during his absence. A scream is omitted from Josephine while Richards tries to hide Brently from the truth. The truth that her husband is alive and well, and was miles away from the wreck. Richards was too late though. Mrs. Mallard’s heart has stopped, her life has stopped. She had everything and nothing all in the same moment, which ultimately killed her. Her death, “of the joy that kills,'; is how the author describes Mrs. Mallard’s death, and unwittingly her marriage as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mrs. Mallard’s happiness was in fact, the cause of her death. This death, arrived out of shock that her weak heart could not handle. The arrival of her husband who was the cause of her new-found freedom caused her death. Mrs. Mallard’s death could be seen as the ultimate freedom from her unhappy marriage. Though her life ends in an extremely ironic manner, Mrs. Mallard does in fact finally escape the restrictions of her old life, not merely upon the hour before Brently Mallard’s arrival but in the end for eternity.