Puhlmann 1
Kyler Puhlmann
29 March 2014
English 1302
MRamirez
Essay II
Free
Everyone takes a different approach when suffering with a loss of a loved one, whether it’s crying uncontrollably or being extremely mad. Louise Mallard had a different reaction when she had received the information about her husband death involving a train accident. Richards, a close friend of Mr. Mallard, knows that Louise does have heart trouble. So when relaying the information, they “ break to her as gently as possible the news of her husbands death (Kate Chopin IP1).” Going to her room, Louise locks herself in. Now standing there she’s finds a “roomy armchair” facing an open window. The sadness she’s feeling is gradually turning into joy. Kate Chopin “The Story of an Hour” Louise Mallard experiences rare emotions when grieving, which leads to her ironical death.
To begin Mrs. Louise Mallard suffers from a heart condition and when asked to believe the story of her husband’s departure, “she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept significants (Kate Chopin IP3)." Her response was one-off; Mrs. Mallard sobs once and then locking herself in her room. Once sitting in her room she lets her mind run crazy, thinking of what she will do without Mr. Mallard? Could she ever do anything without him? However "There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it fearfully..creeping out of the sky, reaching
Puhlmann 2 towards her through sounds, scents, and colors that filled the air(Kate Chopin IP9)." Louise originally shattered, but thinking she begins to like what her future might be like without Mr. Mallard. In this time period society thinks that women cannot do as much as men. At this time her mind is running a hundred miles an hour with all the possibilities she can do without Mr. Mallard. Realizing something, she softly repeats " free, free, free (Kate Chopin IP11.) Now realizing she's free from commitment, her husband and marriage. Loving the idea of being single Mrs. Mallard clasps the sense of freedom and welcomes it in to her heart.
Now, Mrs. Mallards head is full of joy following up to her passing. When humans being lose someone like their partner in marriage they tend not to be joyful. Especially when it is so unexpected, but Louise's reaction is not what you would ever expect to see from a train accident causing death to a husband. When initially told about her husband’s accident, she asked no questions. Not even if it was her husband that had passed away or even how it happened. As soon as she had received the news she had accepted it. Most all wives or loved ones have questions or are in denial for days or even weeks, but now Mrs.
Louise Mallard "She sees beyond the bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opens and spreads her arms out to them in welcome (Kate Chopin IP13)." Now it's time for Louise to liver for Louise! She could finally do things she's always wanted to do she sees her husbands passing as a opportunity and nothing else. She has the feeling if starting free, starting all over, as she has gotten another chance. Mrs. Louise Mallard would not hold back or hesitate for anything!
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Finally, shock is what finally ends Mrs. Louise's now joyful life. Once someone is so happy like this it is hard to bring them down off of the "high". At this time Josephine is begging Louise to open the door, because the thought of Louise upset, she might accidentally hurt herself. But she was far from hurting herself, Mrs. Mallard has made herself woozy at this point from the beliefs of being so free. She keeps thinking, "Her fancy is that running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own(Kate Chopin IP18)." Knowing that she would have a chance to do all the things she's ever wanted it felt like all her problems were solved. But reality came knocking at her locked bedroom door. It's was Brently Mallard "He had been far from the scene of the accident, and he didn't even know there had been one(Kate Chopin IP20)." She was that close to being completely free, but with the blink of an eye it was back to reality. Mr. Millard had not passed away. She only had an
Idea of being completely free but never got to live it, and this was the day Louise Mallard died. The doctors said it was because of a heart attack, but in all truthfulness is was because of disappointment.
Why did Mrs. Louise Mallard die? Whys is it that Mr. Mallard survived a tragic accident? Ultimately it was Louise's death that was tragic, she died because of over joyfulness and sudden shock. She was so very close but yet extremely far away, she was there, she could almost feel it. "Free! Body and soul free (Kate Chopin IP15)!"

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Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” The Norton Introduction to Literature Shorter 11th ed. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2013. 476. Print.
The Role of the Wife and Mother." Kate Chopin. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.