Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

The Story of an Hour is a short story that was written in 1894 by Kate Chopin. Throughout this unique story, there are only a small amount of characters. The protagonist is Mrs. Louise Mallard, and she is unhappily married to Mr. Brently Ballard. While Mr. and Mrs. Ballard are the main characters, Kate Chopin also in includes Josephine who is Louise sister and Brentley’s friend Richard. Although Josephine and Richard play a minor role in the story, they help us understand the situation Louise Mallard has been going through. The themes throughout Chopin’s story is confinement and a sense of freedom that could relate to Mrs. Mallards medical condition. The underlying issue in the story is the unheard-of view from a wife’s point of view of what
Ballard has a heart condition that causes everyone around her to treat her differently. This quote shows that Mrs. Mallard’s medical condition is very serious and should not be taken lightly because a sudden shock of emotions would likely kill her. “Louise’s sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.” Josephine was being very cautious when she broke the news to her about Mr. Brently Mallards death. To also comfort Louise because of her server medical condition was Richard a friend of Brently. Richard was take back when he received the telegram about the train and it was only after reading the second telegram did he finally believe that his friend was killed. When the news of Mr. Mallard was broken to Mrs. Ballard her actions were not that of a happily married
“Louise wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone.” As she made her up the stairs to her room she made it clear that she wanted to be alone and didn’t want any to follow her. While Louise is going up to her room all these emotions are running though her mind. She gets up to her room and opens the door and there sits her big comfortable armchair facing the window. Louise gets comfortable on the chair as she looks at the windows and slowly she is “pressed down by a physical exhaustion that has haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” As the emotions are over taking her the world outside the window is trying to take her mind away from her problems and offer her a small piece of