Mrs. Mallard's Loss In The Story Of An Hour

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The beginning of The Story of an Hour leads off with a woman by the name of Mrs. Mallard after her husband recently died. Those who are close to her feel that she is weak and could easily be broken at any second they feel she has to be treated with care especially with news as upsetting as the death of her husband. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.” (Kate Chopin 1) this quote shows how she is treated as carefully as possible this is a very common idea for the women of the time but it is even more prevalent in Mrs. Mallard’s life as she struggles with heart problems. As the news of her husband’s death is finally broken to …show more content…

Mallard finally finally realizes her freedom without her husband she can live her life to do whatever she wants to do. This final realization has reinvigorated her she is ready to move on in her life almost immediately she has skipped through the stages of grief and realized her happiness and has accepted her husband's death “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” (Kate Chopin 3). The very end of the story reveals that her husband is actually still alive and as he walks in Mrs. Mallard dies of the shock and realization that she no longer has her freedom kills her. As the doctor diagnoses her death he has this to say “When the doctors came they said she had (20) died of heart disease--of the joy that kills”(Kate Chopin 3). This shows the stereotypes that are ever so present at the time everman believes that when a women gets married they are absolutely in love with their husband and they need them to survive so the surprise that her husband is dead is supposed to be the amount of joy she felt but really this wasn’t at all the case as the men of the 1800s assume too much and discriminate immensely towards women as they look for what they want not how a women actually

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