The Story of an Hour

Of the major themes in this short story, freedom and confinement truly explain the sufferings in which Mrs. Mallard is subjected to enduring. Mrs. Mallard faces captivity through her marriage, health condition, and even her own home. Although freedom has been a lifelong dream of obtaining, she also dreads it. However, once it arrives, she has no plans of letting it go. Ironically, this revelation of emotional and mental freedom is all done in a room she is confined too. Furthermore, after emerging from that room, she is meant by her greatest and true obstacle- her husband.

This short story depicts a riveting and heartbreaking series of events that happens to an unfortunate woman called Mrs. Mallard. Due to her lethal heart condition, Mrs. Mallard must be treated with gentle care and close supervision. The captivity and belittlement she feels not only worsens her condition, but also compensates for her outlook on society. Therefore Mrs. Mallard complicates the expected reaction of a grieving widow in a unusual way. Instead of woeful tears and in denial, the sudden widow pairs her utter disbelief with elation. Although she feels guilty for celebrating the death of her husband, she soon realizes that she has finally gained her freedom. Discovering her new lease on life, Mrs. Mallard finds herself emerging from the room of isolation with a crest of strength and victory on her chest. Unfortunately, this feeling vanishes once Mrs. Mallard is once again in the presence of her husband who wasn’t at the scene of the accident after all. After the well known feeli...

Setting- hour at the Mallard's home women are always inside the Mallards' house, while the men can come and go as they please- confined to the house because of her disease there's more than one floor, because there's a staircase inside; the internal doors have locks; and Mrs. Mallard has her own room. In that room, there's "a comfortable, roomy armchair" Locks herself in her room when she learns of her husband’s death Think outside world if more dangerous cause Mr. Mallard supposedly died there, but in reality it may be safer because he didn’t die outside, whereas Mrs. Mallard died inside Different Forms of Irony Situational irony- Mr. Mallard lives and Mrs. Mallard dies Dramatic irony- Mrs. Mallard dies from the shock of seeing her husband. Everyone thinks she dies from joy, when in fact she dies from just the opposite

The important symbol in the story is the window. The window shows the opportunity and freedom Mrs. Mallard is now going to have. It symbolizes a sense of possibility and re inventing. This is a symbol of feeling alive. Sitting in front of the open window is when Mrs. Mallard begins to realize her own freedom and independence and that she can lead a life of her own. She smells the fresh scent of rain coming in from outside, and she sees trees moving in the wind and portions of blue sky stretching between heavy clouds. Experiencing the sights and sounds of spring motivates her to embrace her new life.

“Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” (4). This shows us that her strong emotions caused her physical exhaustion. “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” (12). This quote shows the feminist theory that it was assumed women were oppressed and shows the patriarchal ideology. She was bending her will and freedom to a white man that held all of the control in the relationship. "She said it over and over under her breath: 'free, free, free!' The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body." (11) - she now feels free from her husband and from being controlled by a man. Now she can live freely, and she is pea...

Criticism- At first Mrs. mallard is upset about her husband’s death, and she is overcome with grief. This makes her seem as like a very emotional person, and also a weak person because of her heart problems that we learn in the beginning of the story. After grieving a lot in her room by herself, she gains strength while looking out her window. This shows her opportunity, and everything she can do now that her husband has died. She gains strength from this, and she won’t be limited by her marriage anymore. She can now think for herself, and make her own decisions. She then learns that she didn’t really love her husband, and she doesn’t have to be held back by him anymore. She can now break away from her married life, and it shows women at that time did not truly know how much of themselves they help back while married, but Mrs. Mallard is lucky enough to realize it. She is also able to create her own identity from this. She was just known as Mrs. Mallard, but now she gets to be an actua...