The_Story_of_an_Hour

The Story of an Hour The Story of an Hour “The Story of an Hour” is about a woman who finds the liberation to live for herself through her husband’s death. Kate Chopin’s main character, Louise Mallard, is an ordinary housewife who has a heart condition. When her husband dies in a train wreck, her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richards rush to her to break the news as gently as possible. When the news is broken to Louise, she immediately burst into tears and clutches her sister. After Louise calms down, she goes to her room to be by herself. She is still very upset, sobbing every now and then, but as she looks through the window, she is disturbed by her feelings, “this thing that was approaching to possess her”(Trotter 150). She is beginning to feel the freedom of being able “to live for herself”(Trotter 153) instead of her husband. She tries to reject this feeling at first, but then starts to give into it until it is a “monstrous joy”(Trotter 156) that consumes her. When she finally leaves the room in triumph, she finds out that her husband is alive. She dies from the shock of finding out her husband is alive. The doctor ironically said, “she died from the grief that kills.”(Chopin 446) Kate Chopin story, hour, husband, louise, husband’s, very, live, kate, death, chopin, after, work, women, out, news, mallard, joy, freedom, feelings, died, chopin’s, alive, works, two, through, sobbing, sister, room, resented, rather, one, never, louise’s, looks, life, liberation, housewife, goes, finds, female, father, dies, describe, controversial, being, beginning, about, able, writing, writes