Free Essay Sample on the Story of an Hour

Introduction

In 'the story of an hour,' it is difficult to analyze—the story without the address of the ironic end. At the beginning of the story, the characters that are presented to the reader include Richard and Josephine. They are afraid to break the news to Louise Mallard concerning the passing of her husband, Brantley Mallard, in a car accident (Chopin 1). It is clear from the story that Louise Mallard has a heart condition and is the reason that makes Josephine and Richard afraid of telling her directly because they do not know how she would take the message.

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Growing Awareness

As the story develops, one thing that is unthinkable and lurks is the growing awareness that Louise Mallard has when she realizes that her husband Brently is no longer alive. She is sad that her husband is dead, but she also recognizes the freedom that should have without him. This freedom could be utilized as a theme in the analysis in that it was a massive part of what made Mrs. Mallard have hope that she was going to be okay even without the husband.

Hope is another theme that could be derived from the text. After accepting that she would live the rest of her life without the husband, Mrs. Mallard is suddenly full of hope as well as new energy, which she believes will enable her to live an even better experience. The attribute of hope is critical in this story because it was hoping the first place, which helped.

Fear

Josephine and Richard to try Mrs. Mallard for the passing of her husband even though it took a while, because they were cautious of the information that they would give her because she had a heart illness (Spark Notes). Fear is also another theme that comes out in this story. At the beginning of the story, Josephine and Richard are afraid of informing Mrs. Mallard about the accident which claimed the life of her husband. This aspect of fear is natural because, as already established from the passage, Mrs. Mallard has an underlying heart condition, and it is for this reason that Richard and Josephine feared telling Mrs. Mallard directly about the death of her husband because they thought she would have a heart attack.

Conclusion

The desire for self-determination as a theme can be seen from Mrs. Mallard as a character from the story after she has been informed that her husband is dead. At first, she is worried about how her life will be without her husband and how she should manage her life, but then she sees this as an opportunity of doing things that she would otherwise not do if the husband was around. The aspect of self-determination is one thing that keeps her going according to the information that has been provided by the passage. The moment that Mrs. Mallard allows herself to recognize the kind of freedom that is coming without the presence of her husband, she says the word 'free' over and over again (Owleyes.org 2). At this point, the fear as well of uncomprehending stare is suddenly replaced with excitement and acceptance. Finally, death is also a central theme to the story as the story is based on Mr. Mallard dying in an accident, and later Mrs. Mallard is actually dying as a result of a heart attack after realizing that her husband was alive and well.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. 19 April 1894. 12 September 2020.

Owleyes.org. The Story of an Hour. 2020. 13 September 2020.

Spark Notes. The Story of an Hour" is a short story by Kate Chopin that was first published in 1894. 2020. 12 September 2020.