The Expectation Of Mrs. Mallard In The Story Of An Hour

Although the comedy suggests a social world in which women exist in utter subordination to fathers and husbands, in the plot, two women bring about the clarifications that unmask the villain. The virtuous wife, Elmire, object of Tartuffe’s lust, and the articulate servant girl, Dorine, confront the immediate situation with pragmatic inventiveness… [for] both women have a clear sense of right and wrong. Within the short story, The Story of an Hour, written by Kate Chopin, the tale of an eluded housewife’s true emotions are liberated. Mrs. Mallard, a women distressed with a heart disorder, went through life married to a man she felt trapped and held bondage to. She hid away these most undesirable emotions, like any common 1800’s wife would, and acted with quite a perplexing amount of serenity. Normally, women were not independent during the 19th century. Traditionally, they did all the difficult work within the
household. Female liberation was not a main concern in society until the late 1900’s. Mrs. Mallard was finally liberated when she heard the news of a railroad disaster her husband was allegedly involved in, which would seize his existence and give her the greatest delight and genuine tranquility of all. It is a shocking and exasperating realization to learn that Mrs. Mallard was enticed by the preconceived notion of her husband’s departure. To understand Mrs. Mallard’s true emotional state, one must consider the symbolism of the imagery throughout the story. Her emotions are represented by the “new spring life” and “breath of rain outdoors.” A few examples of the occurrences Mrs. Mallard notices while looking through her window are in direct relationship to her mental and emotion well being. These factors include the observations of the new plant life due to the tops of trees, the breath of rain that was in the air, the notes of a distant song which some one was singing, and the sparrows that were twittering in the leaves. Mrs. Mallard was able to notice the beauty in a new season of her life. A new beginning without her husband meant she would be able to finally breathe on her own. Little does Mrs. Mallard know, that within the hour of freedom she was granted, she would lose her own life. The fourth, fifth, and sixth paragraph’s content, which revolve around the period of time where Mrs.
Mallard entered her room, are quite shocking. The typical expectation of Mrs. Mallard would be of a weeping woman filled with distress and grief, yet instead she serenely sits down: "There stood, facing an open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair." This is the first signal of the unusual behavior she begins to exhibit. The word “comfortable” that is used to describe the armchair is disturbing because it is most commonly used in referring to something pleasant. A newly widowed woman would most likely not look upon a chair as comfortable, shortly after receiving the dreadful information. As she is resting upon the armchair, she suddenly begins examining the nature outside the window: "The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves." All these descriptions are beautiful symbolisms of
life.
Chopin states, "She said it over and over under her breath: ’free, free, free!’" It is evident that Mrs. Mallard has not felt the feeling of freedom for a lengthy point in time. She explains how she loved him, but is now finally perfectly happy. As stated in The Story of An Hour, "What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!" Mrs. Mallard now has more optimistic liveliness than ever, and even describes herself as a "Goddess of victory.” Her sister, Josephine, is worried about the amount of time Mrs. Mallard has spent in her room all by herself, so she fearfully knocks on the door, asking if her sister was alright. Feeling changed for the better and envisioning a new life filled with happiness and freedom, she willingly opens the door and descended downstairs. Upon descending downstairs she discovers shocking news. Her husband did not die in the railroad catastrophe after all; he stood at the bottom of the stairs, enthusiastically waiting to embrace his wife with affection. With such an overwhelming and shocking, yet upsetting bundle of emotions Mrs. Mallard began to experience, her bright future was crushed and ultimately ended with her own tragic departure from this life.
The Story of an Hour describes the one hour Mrs. Mallard spent dreaming about her new life of freedom and happiness, due to an incorrect death telegram, until tragically passing away herself. The most important aspects of symbolisms used in the short story are found in fifth paragraph. From the view outside her bedroom window she could see the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life, she could smell the delicious breath of rain, she could hear the peddler 's cry, the notes of a distant song, and the twittering of countless sparrows. Spring symbolizes rebirth or renewal of life, and rain is a symbol for abundance and life. The peddler 's cry and the distant song are all symbols of a world filled with life. The sparrow is also symbolization for a safe journey and a safe return to home. As a result, it became the symbol for freedom. Mrs. Mallard attained new life, abundance, and freedom by the death of her husband. The sixth paragraph describes the patches of blue sky that can represent hope and peace. With the death of her husband, Mrs. Mallard longs and hopes for a peaceful freedom with no overpowering will to control her life.
Much of the fifth paragraph portrays not only of the way of life, but the value and quality of it. Spring’s delicious breath of rain, the peddler 's cry, and the distant song are all illustrations of a beautiful life. These illustrations symbolized Mrs. Mallard’s hopes of a new joyous life without being held bondage to her husband and the society she was forced to live in. Within the seventeenth paragraph, Mrs. Mallard was drinking the “very elixir of life through that open window.” The last sentence of The Story of an Hour confirms the quality of life Mrs. Mallard was looking forward to - a life of freedom and joyfulness.