The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin - Essay Example

Character Analysis of Mrs. Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” explores the complex issues concerning love, marriage and independence from a woman’s point of view as exemplified by the mixed emotional state of Mrs. Mallard on her last hour in this world. The strange shift of misery to excitement of the woman a few minutes upon hearing her husband’s supposed death from a train accident is not the common reaction that widows encompass especially at the critical moment of the news just being broken to her.

Normally, this would be regarded as a sign of coldness and insensitivity from her part; however I truly believe that Mrs. Mallard is one sympathetic woman after all. The reaction shown by Mrs. Mallard epitomized a woman’s character of strength and awareness. Although still in grief and acknowledging that her husband treated her well and was a good man, Mrs. Mallard realizes her need of independence and freedom after several years in marriage as quoted, “She said it over and over under the breath: ‘free, free, free!

” (Chopin 10). This line of thought addresses her determination to achieve an identity of her own, seize the beauty of life alone and experience the promise of the future for the first time again without the ties that bind her to another person. Conversely, it may also appear that Mrs. Mallard is self-centered and selfish as her need for liberation surpasses love and marriage. Nonetheless, the story gave a limited view on her relationship with her husband or if Mr. Mallard has done something before that made her to hate him in any way that would create a concrete assumption about her feelings.

Work CitedChopin, Kate. The story of an hour. Perfection Learning. 2000. Print.