When reading the story “The Story of an Hour” for the first time, I came across this character named Mrs. Mallard. According to the description provided in the first line, “afflicted with a heart trouble”, I pictured Mrs. Mallard to be an old women, because it is the elderly individuals that suffer mostly from heart problems. However, I was surprised to learn that Mrs. Mallard was young. Chopin states that Mrs. Mallard “She was young” and describes her as having “a fair, clam face, whose lines bespoke repression” (Chopin, 1894). These descriptions portrays her as being old for her age.
As I continued to read the story, I experienced feelings of sympathy and pity towards Mrs. Mallard as she was trapped in unhappy marriage. Chopin seems to reveal to us the social situation of women at the time, who was a prisoner of her husband. Chopin description of Mrs. Mallard seems to indicate that Mrs. Mallard was trapped in this marriage for very long time, even when she had knowledge that she was young. Being in an unhappy relationship especially marriage can be very frustrating and stressful to an individual. Throughout the story, the reader gets the feeling that Mrs. Mallard was probably being controlled by her husband to an extent that she was denied freedom, meaning the marriage was not a happy on at all (Chopin, 1894).
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In addition, I experienced feelings of confusion, questioning and had many conclusions after reading the story. I could not help but wonder if Mrs. Mallard heart trouble was a physical problem or an exaggerated emotional strain. I concluded that Mrs. Mallard heart trouble was because of the sad state of her life caused by misery and unhappiness. When, Mrs. Mallard, shouts, “free, free, free!” after learning about her husband’s death, her heart condition is not a problem anymore and her body is “warmed and relaxed” (Chopin, 1894). It is common knowledge that depression or worry can make a person ill, and people do actually die from broken heart.
Reference
Chopin, K. (1894). The Story of an Hour. Retrieved from: https://www.katechopin.org/story-hour/
