Shanika Spencer
ENG 112
Short Story Analysis
Grief and Relief “The Story of an Hour” authored by Kate Chopin doesn’t actually take an hour to read. From Mrs. Mallard’s diagnosis of heart trouble to her death, “The Story of an Hour” is a conversation between the narrator and the reader. The narrator tells us things about Mrs. Mallard that Mrs. Mallard herself is not aware of. The conversation that the narrator presents to us is so vividly and dramatically written, it makes the lesson of “The Story of an Hour” obvious to whomever is reading it. In the late 1800s there was not yet such a thing as women’s rights or the independence of women. At the sound of keys at the front door, Mrs. Mallard made the ultimate sacrifice for her freedom. In “The Story of an Hour” the narrator is unknown. The narrator is playing the part of the guide, so to speak. The narrator is the guide that clearly presents every detail of Mrs. Mallard’s final moments to the reader. The narrator carefully starts out by telling us about Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble and the fragility of informing her of her husband’s untimely death. One would expect a great amount of grief after being told that your loved one has passed but it was slightly different in this case. The narrator tells us that “she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance” (Chopin Page#). Mrs. Mallard did not immediately understand the importance of the news she had just heard. She did not even know if it was worthy of attention. She cried a bit and proceeded to her room, alone. “There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul” (Chopin Page#). The narrator explains to us the sense of relief that Mrs. Mallard has bestowed upon her after hearing this news. The open window that this unknown person tells about becomes significant. This is where Mrs. Mallard sees her future. This is where Mrs. Mallard has released all of her inhibitions and worries. The narrator does a very good job at helping the reader know exactly what Mrs. Mallard is feeling. A photo is painted that Mrs. Mallard could possibly be rejoicing from the news of her husband’s death. For some reason, the details provided to us by the narrator, tells us that Mrs. Mallard was not overly distraught about the news. She was suppressing something that is not immediately known. “She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (Chopin Page#). The narrator goes even further to talk about how significant the window became to Mrs. Mallard. This is where Mrs. Mallard saw her future. The narrator, again, paints the picture of a woman full of emotion once she realizes what was at the window. “When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free” (Chopin Page#). Mrs. Mallard was not going to assume this view of the window as being unimportant. “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely” (Chopin Page#). The narrator seems to be in the room with Mrs. Mallard. We have no other information for the other characters of “The Story of an Hour”. The narrator’s sole purpose is to place in the mind of Mrs. Mallard. The narrator does that extensively throughout “The Story of an Hour”. Acting as our eyes and ears to what Mrs. Mallard is doing, saying and thinking and even going as far as inviting the reader into Mrs. Mallard’s most personal thoughts about her husband.
And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being. (Chopin Page#)