Essay on the Death of Liberty in The Story of an Hour by Kate ChopinIn Kate Chopin's short story, "The Story of an Hour", we are told that Mrs. Mallard, the main character, is suffering from an illness cardiac. Then Mrs. Mallard's sister, Josephine, tells her that Mr. Mallard died in a train disaster. At the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard dies when her husband suddenly walks through the door. The doctor says that Mrs. Mallard died “of heart disease, of a joy that kills” (Chopin 27). Some people may agree with the doctor's diagnosis, but I think he was wrong. I believe that Mrs. Mallard's death was not because she was happy to see her husband, but because she was sad to lose her new found freedom. I also think that Mrs. Mallard realized that love is no substitute for the freedom to live your own life. Throughout this short story, there are examples of how Mrs. Mallard's actions and ideas are focused on her freedom. There are also thoughts and ideas that show Mrs. Mallard realizing that love is no substitute for independence. When Mrs. Mallard learned of her husband's death, she "did not hear the story as many women have heard the same thing, with a paralyzed inability to accept its meaning" (Chopin 25). This shows that Mrs. Mallard was not completely distressed, otherwise she would have had this so-called "icy appearance." She also didn't deny her husband's death, which is another natural reaction to losing someone you care deeply about. After Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband's death, she retires to her room. The exterior landscape is not that of death, but that of life. This is how Chopin describes the landscape as Mrs. Mallard looks out her bedroom window: she “could see on the open square in front of her house the tops of tr...... middle of paper .... .. Mrs. Mallard's husband walks through the front door. She looks at her husband, but all she can see is his newfound freedom slipping away. his independence, when it was suddenly taken away from him. I think the loss of independence can be fatal, and in Ms. Mallard's case, it was. After Mrs. Mallard's death, the doctor misdiagnoses her death as "killing joy." I hope you see, as clearly as I do, that Mrs. Mallard did not die of joy that kills, but of the loss of that powerful thing we call freedom. Works Cited Chopin, Kate “The Story of an Hour.” Anthology of fiction. NY: HarperCollins, 1991. 25-27. Skaggs, Peggy. “Review of Kate Chopin’s short story”. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991..

Essay / Essay on the Death of Liberty in The Story of an Hour by Kate ChopinIn Kate Chopin's short story, "The Story of an Hour", we are told that Mrs. Mallard, the main character, is suffering from an illness cardiac. Then Mrs. Mallard's sister, Josephine, tells her that Mr. Mallard died in a train disaster. At the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard dies when her husband suddenly walks through the door. The doctor says that Mrs. Mallard died “of heart disease, of a joy that kills” (Chopin 27). Some people may agree with the doctor's diagnosis, but I think he was wrong. I believe that Mrs. Mallard's death was not because she was happy to see her husband, but because she was sad to lose her new found freedom. I also think that Mrs. Mallard realized that love is no substitute for the freedom to live your own life. Throughout this short story, there are examples of how Mrs. Mallard's actions and ideas are focused on her freedom. There are also thoughts and ideas that show Mrs. Mallard realizing that love is no substitute for independence. When Mrs. Mallard learned of her husband's death, she "did not hear the story as many women have heard the same thing, with a paralyzed inability to accept its meaning" (Chopin 25). This shows that Mrs. Mallard was not completely distressed, otherwise she would have had this so-called "icy appearance." She also didn't deny her husband's death, which is another natural reaction to losing someone you care deeply about. After Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband's death, she retires to her room. The exterior landscape is not that of death, but that of life. This is how Chopin describes the landscape as Mrs. Mallard looks out her bedroom window: she “could see on the open square in front of her house the tops of tr...... middle of paper .... .. Mrs. Mallard's husband walks through the front door. She looks at her husband, but all she can see is his newfound freedom slipping away. his independence, when it was suddenly taken away from him. I think the loss of independence can be fatal, and in Ms. Mallard's case, it was. After Mrs. Mallard's death, the doctor misdiagnoses her death as "killing joy." I hope you see, as clearly as I do, that Mrs. Mallard did not die of joy that kills, but of the loss of that powerful thing we call freedom. Works Cited Chopin, Kate “The Story of an Hour.” Anthology of fiction. NY: HarperCollins, 1991. 25-27. Skaggs, Peggy. “Review of Kate Chopin’s short story”. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991..

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