Story of an Hour

Imagine being a woman in the 1800’s. Your parents would most likely say to you that when you grow up you must get married, have kids, and take care of the house. Suddenly your husband dies and the first thing that usually comes to mind is what will I do next? But this is not the case for Mrs. Mallard. In the short story “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the author creates a character who seems strange at first, but after some research that person makes perfect sense.

Mrs. Mallard has just heard the news of her husband’s death. To most women, their hearts would be inconsolable and their minds would probably not think properly, but Mrs. Mallard does not act this way. The first thing that comes to her mind is freedom. Now most people would think; man that is one strange person, but I fully understand her. Let’s imagine that two people are married in a rough relationship for a long time. Even though now you can divorce, if you divorce back then it would look odd. Everyone would think that you are a weird person and that you might just have married him/her for his/her money or other evil reasons. Therefore when Mrs. Mallard heard that her husband she almost instantly thought of freedom. Back in the 1800’s any women were in the same situation, but they would try to remarry someone else so they would not be the ugly duckling. In conclusion, this is the reason why Mrs. Mallard dies in the end of the story when she hears that her husband is alive.

The author Kate Chopin creates such a distinctive character in the short story “The Story of an Hour”, that without further research you might not be able to fully understand Mrs. Mallard. While being with a soul mate is great, you might just have endless possibilities if you don’t have one for a while.