Heartbreak: A Literary Comparison

A story full of love and warm vibes is always a story worth reading. Love is such a powerful emotion, able to evoke a person’s most inner thoughts, ideas and questions. Yet, there is another feeling, capable of the same, and more. The emotion is heartbreak. In Hurst’s “Scarlet Ibis,” Chopin’s “Story of an Hour,” and Matheson’s “Button Button,” a common aspect of heartbreak is shared, brought forth by the loss of something valuable. Each story’s protagonist has, in their life, something dear. Brother and Doodle, Mrs. Mallard’s future, and Norma and her husband, Arthur. But in each story, that something that each person loved and cherished is ripped from the characters, leaving them in utter heartbreak. The sense of love each protagonist shares,
Usually, when a partner in a healthy marriage dies, there is a sorrow or heartache that ensues after. Oddly enough though, in the case of Mrs. Mallard in Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” there is a bliss followed by dreams of a bright new life, best embodied through Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts after she has retreated to her room, Chopin writes “She saw a bitter moment a long precession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.” (Chopin 2). Now, Mrs,]. Mallard and her husband had a healthy relationship love wise. There was no abuse, nothing of the sort. Mrs. Mallard herself states that. Yet she is happy that she is free. A feeling that overwhelms her, it is not just a feeling of happiness that she feels towards her new life, it is a feeling of love. A love so strong, that it overtakes the love that she felt towards her husband. But it does not stop there. At this point, she is able to contain herself, but a short but later, she explodes, within her own mind and physically, repeating, “‘Free! Body and soul, free!” This feeling, this love she has for her new, unstarted life, overtakes her, where she has to whisper it to herself. She loves her new unborn life. A life where she is free to be and do what
The story touches on the subjects of morality, greed, and true love. The unspoken and rather hidden subject though, is that of the persistent theme that love often leads to heartbreak. The characters in this story love each other. It is not a true love, but it is love nonetheless. In the story, the reader learns of a couple, Norma and Arthur. They are newly weds and have a fairly decent life planned out, and the two believe that they are in love. There is proof they are in love when shortly after receiving the Button, Norma exclaims “‘We can finally take that trip to Europe.” (Matheson 6). Such a small and vague quote, yet so much can be pulled from it’s deeper meaning. The couple have wanted to go on a trip for quite some time. Norma saw the opportunity for the two, and she wanted to grab hold of it and never release it. This was their chance. When a partner tries do something for the other, it usually means that they care and love the other, and this idea is put into view just by Norma’s action. But it does not end there. After Norma presses the button and discovers Arthur is the one who was killed, she realizes how much she meant to him, which Matheson embodies by writing “She felt unreal as the voice informed her of the subway accident… she couldn’t seem to breathe.” (Matheson 8). At this point, the heartbreak is already setting in, as she can’t believe what she has just done, but the love Norma had for her now late