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The Sense of Freedom in
Kate's Chopin's
The Story of an Hour
Presented By
Rabab Lefta Sultan
Abstract
Over the years the roles of women and their rights have drastically
changed. They have been dominated, trapped, and enslaved by their
marriage. Women have slowly evolved into individuals that
have rights and can stand on their own. Though some women are
still enslaved, the rate is lesser than in the old days. The myth that
women are meant to be housewives has been changed. They are
now
individuals seen in highly reputable places. However, this change
did not happen overnight, it took years to happen.
" The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin might be a short story,
but it shows how women felt obligated to stay with their husbands
despite the fact that they were unhappy with them. It shows the
positive change that has taken over the feminine world from the
eighteenth century until now. Mrs. Louise Mallard is the victim and
the messenger of this story. Throughout the story Chopin describes
the emotions Mrs. Mallard felt about the news of her husband's
death.
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@ @Z˜Üƒn¾a
‫ ﻓﻘﺪ آﺎﻧﻮا ﻣُﺴﺘﻌﺒﺪﻳﻦ و‬, ‫ﺗﻐﻴﺮت ادوار اﻟﻨﺴﺎء و ﺣﻘﻮﻗﻬﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺮ اﻟﺴﻨﻴﻦ‬
‫ﻦ‬
‫ ﻟﻘﺪ ﺗﺤﻮﻟﺖ اﻟﻨﺴﺎء ﺑﺒﻂء إﻟﻰ أﻓﺮادًا ﻟﻬ ﱠ‬.‫ﻣُﺤﺎﺻﺮﻳﻦ و ﻣُﺴﻴﻄﺮ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﻢ ﻣﻦ أزواﺟﻬﻢ‬
‫ﺐ‬
ٍ ‫ن ﻣﻦ اﻟﺮﺟﺎل ﻟﻜﻦ ﺑﻨﺴ‬
َ ‫ﻦ ٌَﻳﺴﺘﻌﺒﺪ‬
ّ ‫ ﻣﻊ ذﻟﻚ ﻓﺎن َﺑﻌْﺾ اﻟﻨِﺴﺎ ِء ﻣﺎ زِﻟ‬.‫ﻦ‬
‫ﻦ اﻟﺨﺎﺻﺔ ﺑﻬ ﱠ‬
‫ﺣﻘﻮﻗﻬ ﱠ‬
‫ ﺗﻐﻴﺮت اﻷﺳﻄﻮرة اﻟﻘﺎﺋﻠﺔ إن اﻟﻨﺴﺎء ﺧﻠﻘﻮا ﻟﻴﻜﻮﻧﻮا رﺑﺎت ﺑﻴﻮت‬.‫ﻞ ِﻣﻤﺎ آﺎن ﻓﻲ ْ اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻲ‬
ُ ‫أﻗ‬
ْ‫ هﺬا اﻟﺘﻐﻴﻴ ِﺮ َﻟﻢْ َﻳﺤْﺪث‬،‫ ﻋﻠﻰ أﻳﺔ ﺣﺎل‬, ‫ﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﺘﺮﻣ ِﺔ‬
ِ ‫ﻦ اﻵن أﻓﺮادا ﻓﻲ اﻷﻣﺎآ‬
‫ ه ﱠ‬,‫وإﻟﻰ اﻷﺑﺪ‬
.‫ﺑﻴﻦ ﻟﻴﻠ ٍﺔ و ﺿﺤﺎهﺎ‬
‫إن " ﻗﺼﺔ ﺳﺎﻋﺔ " ﻟﻠﻜﺎﺗﺒﺔ آﻴﺖ ﺷﻮﺑﺎن ُﺗﻈﻬﺮ آﻴﻒ إن اﻟﻨﺴﺎء ﻣﻠﺰﻣﺎت ﻋﻠﻰ‬
‫ وأوﺿﺤﺖ اﻟﻘﺼﺔ أﻳﻀﺎ‬.‫ﻦ ﻏﻴﺮ ﺳﻌﻴﺪات‬
‫اﻟﺒﻘﺎء ﻣﻊ أزواﺟﻬﻦ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺮﻏﻢ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻘﻴﻘﺔ آﻮﻧﻬ ﱠ‬
‫ إن‬.‫اﻟﺘﻐﻴﺮات اﻻﻳﺠﺎﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺷﻬﺪهﺎ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ اﻟﻨﺴﻮي ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﺮن اﻟﺘﺎﺳﻊ ﻋﺸﺮ إﻟﻰ ﻳﻮﻣﻨﺎ هﺬا‬
‫ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼﻟﻬﺎ ﺟﺴﺪت ﺷﻮﺑﺎن‬,‫اﻟﺴﻴﺪة ﻣﻼرد هﻲ اﻟﻀﺤﻴﺔ و اﻟﺮﺳﻮل ﻓﻲ هﺬﻩ اﻟﻘﺼﺔ‬
‫ و أهﻢ هﺬﻩ‬, ‫اﻷﺣﺎﺳﻴﺲ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺷﻌﺮت ﺑﻬﺎ اﻟﺴﻴﺪة ﻣﻼرد ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ اﺧﺒﺮوهﺎ ﺑﻤﻮت زوﺟﻬﺎ‬
.‫اﻷﺣﺎﺳﻴﺲ هﻮ إﺣﺴﺎﺳﻬﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﺤﺮﻳﺔ‬
Introduction
It is twenty-three centuries since Plato gave to the world his
magnificent treatise on the State. The dream of the Greek
philosopher of equal rights for all intelligent citizens, among whom
he includes:
women, has in large part been realized; but much is yet
wanting to bring society to the standard of the
Ideal
Republic. In not a few States of the world, the conditions
affecting property rights are inequitable; woman is still
barred from the field of politics and from the legitimate
rights of citizenship, and the day seems far distant when
the States possessing a representative government will be
prepared to accept the woman citizen as eligible for
administrative positions.1
Women's rights are entitlements and freedom claimed for
women and girls of all ages in many societies. Issues commonly
associated with notions of women's rights include, though are not
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limited to, the right: to bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote
(suffrage); to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal
pay; to own property; to education; to serve in the military or be
conscripted; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital,
parental and religious rights.2 Then there was a difference in the
treatment of men and women. For instance married women were
legally dead in the eyes of the law. They were not allowed to enter
professions such as medicine or law, there were no chances of
women getting an education, because no college or university
would accept a female with only a few exceptions.3
The Women’s Rights Movement 1920, changed the way
women were seen. It was caused by many factors, greatly impacted
the society of the early 1900s and changed American society
forever. Women were traditionally seen as the weaker sex –
second-class citizens with a lower social status than men. A
woman’s place was in home. Men did the “heavier” labor, like
plowing and hunting. Women were expected to take care of the
children, make the meals, and did the housework. Maternity was the
woman’s main role. The pressure of becoming a wife and mother
kept some women from pursuing a college education or
employment. In the United States, a man owned his wife and
children. Women had been treated as if they were mentally and
socially inferiors; property of the husbands. They Subdued by men
for thousands of years. Only in the last hundred years restrictions
on women have been lifted, when the feminist movements
appeared, though the early modern feminist movements were met
with animosity.4
Literature had a great role in improving women's place in the
world, some writers were mainly concerned of women's issues, they
have tried to reflect women's suffering throughout the past in their
works, Kate Chopin
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( 1850- 1904) is one of these writers She was a Victorian writer;
whose writing manifests her life experiences. She was not happy
with the principles of the time, because women had fewer rights,
and they were not considered equal to men. Afraid of segregation
from society, people lived in a hypocritical world full of lies;
moreover, Kate Chopin was not afraid of segregation, and used her
writing as a weapon against oppression of the soul. Marriage was
an oppressor to Chopin, she had been a victim of this institution.5
Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is an expression of her believe
that, marriage is an institution that oppresses and represses women,
and it is a source of discontent among human beings. In this story
Chopin illustrates the role of woman in marriage and in the society
during her time. It demonstrates the issue of male dominance. There
are some similarities and differences in the role of woman in
marriage and in the community in 1940’s compared to the way
women are treated today. And these are seen in the rights of women
and in the responsibilities regarding family and marriage.6
The American author Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis,
Missouri, in 1850. Her father, Thomas O’Flaherty, died when she
was five, and she spent her childhood among women: her mother,
Eliza; grandmother; great-grandmother; and the nuns who ran her
school.7 Kate's great-grandmother taught her the art of story telling,
from her she learned how to be a successful storyteller. Through
vivid French stories, she gave Kate a taste of the culture and
freedom allowed by the French that many Americans during this
time disapproved of. Many of the common themes in her
grandmother's stories consisted of women struggling with morality,
freedom, convention, and desire. The spirit of these stories endures
in Kate's own works.8 In 1870, she married Oscar Chopin of
Louisiana, The Chopins had six children in nine years, and Oscar
died suddenly, she returned to St. Louis after his death.
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The narrative of Kate Chopin's life is not primarily the tale of a
chaste widow. Rather, it is the story of an ambitious author. She
stopped following the traditional path of a woman -- and became an
individual. Individuality in women is not always easy to see. Often,
without even knowing what we are doing, we look for the typical,
for the familiar wife-and-mother behind the dynamic career. We
look for the demure belle or the suffering widow -- and see women
primarily as appendages to men or as seeking the approval of men.9
"Kate was neither a feminist nor a suffragist" 10, she said so.
She was nonetheless a woman who took women extremely
seriously. She never doubted women's ability to be strong. She
simply had a different understanding of freedom. She saw freedom
as much more a matter of spirit, soul, character of living the life
within the constraints that the world makes, because all of us do
live within constraints. 11
Chopin began writing fiction in 1889. She wrote about
life and people in Louisiana and focused her attention on love, sex,
marriage, women, and independence. She published her first novel,
At Fault, in 1890, when she was forty, and she went on to publish
short stories and essays addressing similar topics. She published
two collections of short stories, Bayou Folk (1894) including “The
Story of an Hour” and A Night in Arcadie (1897), she published her
second novel, The Awakening In 1899,and became known as a
writer with a keen eye for local culture.12
In his 1969 biography, the critic Per Seyersted summarizes
what Kate Chopin accomplished. She "broke new ground in
American literature," he says:
She was the first woman writer in her country to accept
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passion as a legitimate subject for serious, outspoken
fiction. Revolting against tradition and authority; with
boldness which we can hardy fathom today; with an
uncompromising
honesty and
no trace of
sensationalism, she undertook to give the unsparing
truth about woman’s submerged life. She was something
of a pioneer in the amoral treatment of sexuality, of
divorce, and of woman’s urge for an existential
authenticity. She is in
many respects a modern writer, particularly in her
awareness
of the complexities of truth and the complications of
freedom.13
Additionally, she did not limit her exploration of freedom to
physical emancipation (i.e., husbands controlling wives through the
traditional expectations of motherhood), but also intellectual
autonomy. She didn't start her professional writing career until later
in life, but the lessons she learned and the events she experienced
gave her the unique insight that provided material for her stories.
Unlike many of the feminist writers of her time who were mainly
interested in improving the social conditions of women, she looked
for an understanding of personal freedom that questioned
conventional demands of both men and women.14
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Bibliography
Bonner, Thomas Jr. The Kate Chopin Companion. New York : Greenwood,
1988.
Green, Suzanne Disheroon, and Caudle, David J. . KATE CHOPIN An
Annotated Bibliography of Critical Works. Westport,
Connecticut London: Greenwood Press,1999.
Hecker, Eugene A. . A Short History of Women's Rights From the Days of
Augustus to the Present Time. With Special Reference to
England and the United States. CAMBRIDGE: MASS.
August, 1914.
Koloiski, Bernard. Kate Chopin: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York:
Twayne, 1996.
knights, Pamela. (OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS KATE CHOPIN:
Awakening and Other Stories. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000.
Nelson, Emmanuel S. . NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN
WOMEN WRITERS A Bio-Bibliographical
Critical Sourcebook. Westport, CT. Greenwood
Press, 1997.
Per Seyersted ed., The Complete Works of Kate Chopin ( Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State UP, 1969.
Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin : A Critical Biography. Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State Up, 1969.
Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson, MS. : University Press of
Mississippi, 1999.
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Internet Sources
Dagenhart Natalia. Literary analysis: The Story of an Hour, by Kate
Chopin <http://
www.helium.com/widget_config?prev.>
( Feb. 20, 2011 P.1)
Deter,Floramaria. " Kate Chopin: In Search of Freedom"
<http://www.katechopin.org/> ( Jan.20, 32011)
Hicks, Jennifer. "The Story of an Hour" (Criticism)
Criticism < http://www.katechopin.org> P. 2
Free Story of an Hour Essays: "Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour: Irony in
The Story of an Hour"< http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=2948 >
(Feb. 20. 2011)
"Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour"
<http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=92816>( (Feb.20,2011)
"On Chopin and feminism"
<http://classiclit.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=classiclit&cdn
=education&tm=30&gps=320_397_1362_536&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0
&zu=http%3A//www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html> (Feb. 15,2011)
"The Story of the Hour by Kate Chopin: Discussing the Character Types"
<http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1091925/the_story_of_the_hour_by
_kate_chopin_pg2.html?cat=38> (Jan. 25, 2011)
"The Story of an Hour" < http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/thestory-of-an-hour/> ( Jan. 20. 2011) P.3
"Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour”: A Feminist Reading"
< http://www.katechopin.org/the-story-of-an-hour.shtml> P.4
"Women's Rights" <http//:www.wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia.com>
(Jan.5 2011)
"Women's Suffrage From Grolier"
<http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/suffrage/history.htm> (jan.15,2011)
"Women's Rights" <http//:www.wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia.com>
(Jan.5 2011)
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Notes
1 Eugene A. Hecker, A Short History of Women's Rights From the Days of
Augustus to the Present Time. With Special Reference to
England and the United States (CAMBRIDGE: MASS.
August, 1914 P.174)
2 "Women's Rights" <http//:www.wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia.com>
(Jan.5 2011)
3 "Women's Suffrage From Grolier "
<http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/suffrage/history.htm> (jan.15,2011)
4 "Women's Rights" <http//:www.wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia.com>
(Jan.5 2011)
5 Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour
<http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=92816>( (Feb.20,2011)
6 "Women's Rights in the 1940's Illustrated in Kate Chopin's The Story of
an Hour" <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=7841>.(
Feb.15,2011)
7 Emmanuel S. Nelson, NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN
WOMEN WRITERS A Bio-Bibliographical
Critical Sourcebook (Westport, CT. Greenwood
Press, 1997 P. 51)
8 Ibid P. 53
9 Suzanne Disheroon Green and David J. Caudle, KATE CHOPIN An
Annotated Bibliography of Critical Works (Westport,
Connecticut London: Greenwood Press, 1999 P. 4)
10 On Chopin and feminism
<http://classiclit.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=classiclit&c
dn=education&tm=30&gps=320_397_1362_536&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&
bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html> (Feb.
15,2011)
11 Ibid.
12 Emmanuel S. Nelson, P.54
13 Per Seyersted, Kate Chopin : A Critical Biography ( Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State Up, 1969 P. 35)
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14 Floramaria Deter, " Kate Chopin: In Search of Freedom"
<http://www.katechopin.org/> ( Jan.20, 32011)
15 Emily Toth, Unveiling Kate Chopin (Jackson, MS. : University Press of
Mississippi, 1999 P. 10)
16 Natalia Dagenhart , "Literary analysis: The Story of an Hour, by Kate
Chopin" <http://www.helium.com/widget_config?prev.>
( Feb. 20, 2011 P.1)
17 "The Story of the Hour by Kate Chopin: Discussing the Character
Types"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1091925/the_story_of_the_hour_
by_kate_chopin_pg2.html?cat=38 (Jan. 25, 2011)
18 Per Seyersted ed., The Complete Works of Kate Chopin ( Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State UP, 1969, P.788)
19 Pamela knights, OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS KATE CHOPIN:
Awakening and Other Stories (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000 P. xxii)
20 Thomas Bonner Jr. The Kate Chopin Companion ( New York :
Greenwood, 1988 P.201)
21 "The Story of an Hour" < http://www.sparknotes.com/shortstories/the- story-of-an-hour/> ( Jan. 20. 2011) P.3
22 Kate Chopin’s "The Story of an Hour": A Feminist Reading
< http://www.katechopin.org/the-story-of-an-hour.shtml> P.4
23 Natalia Dagenhart , P.3
24 Jennifer Hicks, "The Story of an Hour (Criticism)" Criticism
< http://www.katechopin.org> P. 2
25 Bernard Koloiski, Kate Chopin: A Study of the Short Fiction ( New
York: Twayne, 1996 P. 196)
26 Free Story of an Hour Essays: Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour: Irony
in The Story of an Hour
<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=2948>.
27 Natalia Dagenhart , P.3
28 Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”: A Feminist Reading
< http://www.katechopin.org/the-story-of-an-hour.shtml> P.1
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The Story of an Hour
"The Story of an Hour" is a short story written by Kate
Chopin in 1894. It is about the reaction of a young woman, named
Louise, to the news that her husband Brently was killed in a train
wreck. Louise's sister comes to her with the news of her husband's
demise. Both her sister and her husband's friend expect her to be
devastated by the news, but instead she is excited at the thought of
being alone and living her life. After an hour, Louise and her sister
are walking down the stairs Louise's husband comes through the
door causing her to have a heart attack.15
It is an impressive literary piece which touches a reader's
feelings as well as mind. Although the story is really short, it is very
rich and complete, and every word in it carries deep sense and a lot
of meaning. The main character and the protagonist of the story,
Mrs. Mallard, experiences in her life something that not everyone
has the luck to have the happiness of freedom; but the reader
understands it only in the end of the story.16 The entire story is
centered on her life and the events that occur. Her character type is
a dynamic character. because at the beginning she was shocked of
her husband's death but she slowly started to change her mind and
realize she could finally live of her own. She is the main character
in the story and her change in opinion from sadness to rejoicing, is
what the story revolves around.17
At the beginning we find out that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted
with heart trouble, and news about her husband's death is brought to
her as gently as possible. Her sister Josephine and her husband's
friend Richards, who bring this news to her, honestly believe that
Mrs. Mallard would be very upset to hear it, and that it could make
her even more ill. She hears of the accident through "broken
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sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing" 18 The
emotions she felt about the news of her husband's death were not
overcome by despair or by sadness, they were something else:
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same,
with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at
once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When
the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room
alone.
She would have no one follow her. (p.788 )
Louise comprehends the news only later, and Chopin shows
us little by little how she comes to realize it and what helps her to
understand it. She goes to her room, and "there stood, facing the
open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank"
(P.788 ).Louise sits down and looks out an open window. She sees
trees, smells approaching rain, and hears a peddler yelling out what
he’s selling. She hears someone singing as well as the sounds of
sparrows, and there are fluffy white clouds in the sky. 19 These
words don't appear in the story with no reason. All these details
make us feel the growth of Mrs. Mallard's excitement and make us
understand the sign of the meaning of the blue sky as a symbol of
freedom and future life. She is young, with lines around her eyes.
Still crying, she gazes into the distance. She feels apprehensive and
tries to suppress the building emotions within her, but can’t. She
begins repeating the word "Free!" to herself over and over again.
Her heart beats quickly, and she feels very warm.20 Mrs. Mallard
gets in touch with life, starts to hear sounds and to smell scents
which she didn't feel before. Why? What happened? Does she really
start to notice it all only after her husband's death? Yes, and Chopin
gives more details, emphasizing it:
She knew that she would weep again when she
saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the
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face that had never looked save with love upon
her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw
beyond that bitter moment a long procession of
years to come that would belong to her
absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms
out to them in welcome.
(P.790)
Louise knows she’ll cry again when she sees Brently’s
corpse. His hands were tender, and he always looked at her
lovingly. But then she imagines the years ahead, which belong only
to her now, and spreads her arms out joyfully with anticipation. She
will be free, on her own without anyone to oppress her. She thinks
that all women and men oppress one another even if they do it out
of kindness. Louise knows that she often felt love for Brently but
tells herself that none of that matters anymore. She feels ecstatic
with her newfound sense of independence.21 Louise’s recognition of
her liberation is at first private. She "abandon[s]" herself in a room
of her own .She must not make her “joy” known under any
circumstances. Conscious of her social duty as a widow to grieve
for a year, Nevertheless, she manifests her joy publicly.22 "there
was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself
unwittingly like a goddess of Victory"(P.791) . These words show
the picture of Mrs. Mallard's family life. She was unhappy with her
husband; she couldn't have her own opinion and couldn't show her
own will, that's why she is happy to be free! Back then society
doesn't accept a divorced woman, but it accepts widows, so she
looks at her widowhood as a rebirth, similar to the 'new spring
outside her window.23
Marriage was considered a sacred institution. Divorce was
quite rare in the 1800s and if one was to occur, men were
automatically given legal control of all property and children. So
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being a widow is the only way for Mrs. Mallard to get freedom.
"Free! Body and soul free! " (P.789). We read these words and
share with Mrs. Mallard her feelings, her excitement and hopes.24
At this point Mrs. Mallard's sister Josephine is looking ridiculous,
with her words "Louise, open the door! you will make yourself ill."
(P.790) Because practically, Mrs. Mallard, who is a woman, who
has numerous years under her husband's will, finally gets an
absolutely freedom, a miraculous freedom, which she even doesn't
hope to get the day before. However, her sister is far from
understanding it.25
Expecting "spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that
would be her own" (790), Louise grows excited and begins to
fantasize about living her life for herself. With this realization, she
wishes that "life might be long,"(P.790). Mrs. Mallard goes out of
the room, from the first look this point of the story seems as the
highest culminating moment of the whole story, this is an eerie
foreshadowing for an even more unexpected ending, and here is the
irony. The author prepared the main strong culmination right in the
end, in three final paragraphs, as she walks down the stairs:
Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It
was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained,
composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had
been far from the scene of accident, and did not even
know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's
piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him
from the view of his wife . (P.791)
The reader has just accepted Louise's reaction to her
husband's death, when the most unexpected happens; her husband is
actually alive and he enters the room shocking everyone, and
Louise especially, as she is shocked to death. The irony continues,
though, because the doctors say she died of joy, when the reader
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knows that she actually died because she had a glimpse of freedom
and can not go back to live under her husband's will again.26
Mrs. Mallard dies "of joy that kills" (P.791). These words
carry the absolutely opposite meaning, than they read. We
understand, that the doctors are wrong, thinking that she dies from
happiness of seeing her husband again. She chooses rather to die
than to live again under her husband's will, especially after
experiencing freedom, even just for one hour. This hour in a
comfortable armchair in front of the open window made her feel
happy and free, makes her understand the sense of her being, and it
is the only real hour of her life.27
The equilibrium of her situation is what survives: Brently
Mallard’s return signals the return of her oppressive condition and
ensures that Louise Mallard will experience no more than a
momentary change in her situation. It is this unchanging prospect,
the preservation of her oppressive condition, that proves Louise
Mallard, or rather her circumstances, fatal to herself in the title, the
"story" refers to that of Louise's life. She lived in the true sense of
the word, with the will and freedom to live for only one hour.28 This
hour summarizes her life, her being, it is a very rich hour with all
kinds of surprises and incidents .
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