The Story of an Hour
by Kate Chopin
Mrs. Mallard gets the unexpected news that her husband has been killed in an accident. She
quickly recovers from the shock to discover that what she really feels is relief. Though she mourns his
passing, she delights in the freedom that is now hers. She shuts herself in her room and relishes the
opportunities ahead of her. When Mr. Mallard returns as unexpectedly as he supposedly died, Mrs.
Mallard suffers a fatal heart attack caused by the sudden loss of independence. The doctors, mistakenly
assuming that she had been grieving, attribute the death to “joy that kills.”
Notes:
- Why is Josephine afraid to tell Louise (Mrs. Mallard) about her husband’s death?  she has a heart
condition
- Irony in the sounds after Mrs. Mallard hears of her husband’s death b/c they are sounds of life
- Situational irony (when something happened that contradicts our expectations) happens in the story
when Mrs. Mallard whispers “free, free, free” after hearing of her husband’s death.
- Mrs. Mallard starts thinking that she will live for herself after the death of her husband.
- Last 2 sentences on first paragraph page 645…what is ironic about it? her wishes changed following
her husband’s death.
- Who actually is not dead Mr. Mallard
- What is ironic about Mrs. Mallard’s death?  the doctor’s said she died from joy that kills the heart by
seeing her husband back but really she was glad he had died.
- How does the title of the story fit in exactly with the story? Mrs. Mallard gains her freedom and loses
it to death in what seemed like an hour.
- Major themepersonal freedom
3 places for chart that will be re-created off page 661
1. Mrs. Mallard noticing new things are alive after she hears word of her husband’s death
(page 644)
2. She opening and spreading her arms to welcome her new freedom (page 645)
3. Joy that killed her heart by seeing her husband back…actually she was heartbroken (page
646)