Kate Chopin: The Story of an Hour

In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", a whirlwind of events occur in minor amount of time. The story begins with mention that Mrs.Mallard is already dealing with relationship issues as it says "was afflicted with heart trouble". When she first hears of her husbands death is has the normal reaction one would have to hearing the loss of a loved one. However, when she isolates herself and her husbands departure from earth sinks in she has a change of emotion. She even shocks herself when she is uttering "free, free, free!". It is obvious that she feels as though she has escaped from a marriage she was dying to get out of, one where she didn't even feel the love of her husband. She was now free at will to live without his bearing over her. If people are stuck in a tedious commitment, then life altogether can seem torturous as she thought it would be when she shuddered at the thought of a long one. Now that she was no longer a part of a miserable union she was contrarily praying for a long one. Her freedom was short lived, as she soon discovered that her husband was not dead after all. As he walked in, she died of the shock. The doctor declared it "of joys that kill", but the truth was she died of heart break that she was infinity chained to her unhappiness. I belive that Mrs. Mallards overall reactions were not so far fetched from real life. Her human instinct was not evil, and at the first news of her husbands death she was not overcome with joy, but with shock and sadness. It was only after her initial reaction that she realized that she was out of marriage she did not want to be in. Vowing to be united with another human being for the rest of your life is one of the hardest things in life to make a success, and I can't help but think that if I was in an unhappy marriage, that in Mrs.Mallards situation it would have been an escape.