Story Of An Hour Response Essay

“The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is a short, thought provoking story about Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to the news of her husband’s death. In the story, Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition and because of that, her sister and her husband’s friend have to gently break the news to her. Initially, her reaction was to go up in her room and cry, but as an hour passes by, her mood completely flips from heartbroken to joyful. Finally, she feels free and imagines a wonderful life without her husband, but as she walks downstairs and sees him walk through the door, Mrs. Mallard dies. This story is worth reading because it shows you how others react to death, demonstrates the joy of independence, and reveals the burden of being married. Death is not an easy experience to deal with, and in “The Story of An Hour” we see how Mrs. Mallard reacts to it. From reading about her situation, we are able to compare a time we dealt with death and see if our responses were similar to her response. Initially, anyone will cry when hearing this upsetting news, but the actions people do
Mallard makes marriage seem like a burden to her life. From the thrill and happiness the death of her husband brings her, she makes it clear that life is better off without him. “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.” Mrs. Mallard’s life will now go as she wants it to and treats this awful news like a gift. “There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” Without her husband in her life she realizes that self-assertion was the strongest impulse of her being. I feel that if women find out that a husband could possibly feel like a burden, it will change the views of many of us, or make us realize how important it is to find someone who we will be happy to spend the rest of our lives