Character Analysis: The Story of an Hour

“The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin is a powerful literacy piece, where the main character goes through many emotional behavioral changes.

Even though the story is really short, it is still very deluxe and complete and every word in it carries a much deeper meaning than we actually might realize. The main character of the story, Mrs. Mallard, experiences a horrible tragedy that makes her go through many different emotional behaviors. In the beginning, we find out that Mrs.

Mallard is afflicted with heart trouble, and news about her husband’s death is brought to her “as gently as possible” (45).Her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richards, who bring the news to her, believe that Mrs. Mallard will be very sad and upset and think that once she hears the news she will become even more ill. Here, at this moment all the readers expect her to react this way, because this is normal behavior for a person who has lost someone.

When Mrs. Mallard first gets the news, she is devastated and heartbroken. As evidence, “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment” (46). After weeping, and thinking about this tragedy, Mrs.

Mallard was, “pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul” (46). Her soul was in fear and pain because she didn’t know anything other than being someone’s wife. . But what we don’t expect to happen to Mrs. Mallard’s behavior is; for it to change to the complete opposite. Once Mrs.

Mallard came into her room, it was introduced to us that “there stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair” (46). Here, we are being introduced to a different emotion.The author starts to turn the story from sad and negative, to more positive and reassuring. This is because from the sentence we see that, “a comfortable, roomy armchair” symbolizes comfort and security. And the “open window” symbolizes connection to the world, in other words; life.

The detailed descriptions and symbolisms that follow after, describe the new, positive turn in the story more. In paragraph five, “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air” (46).This paragraph shows us that Mrs.

Mallard starts to get in touch with living things, life, and beautiful sights that seem like she never knew, or noticed, until her husband’s death. The quote, “patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds…” (46) has a hidden meaning. By this quote it is showing us that there are clouds all over, in the symbolism of the grief over her dead husband, and now there are “patches of blue sky showing,” which symbolizes hope, freedom, and a chance to get a fresh new life. This description tries to tell Mrs.Mallard and the readers that even though things seem awful now, something good will still come out of it. All of these details are showing us the growth of Mrs.

Mallard’s excitement for her new chapter of life. At the end of paragraph seven, “It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought” (46). When reading this, we start to see something. We see that something is going on in Mrs.

Mallard’s mind; it is starting to change, but not by her own will, but by something else’s. “There was something coming towards her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (46).Here the readers see that her emotion starts to change from sad to confused and afraid. Once she starts to feel something taking over her, “creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air” (46), she tries to fight it, but she is not strong enough so she just lets go.

And now she is vulnerable, and is awaiting for whatever this is to just take over her. From the last quote, we start to understand that her soul is starting to feel alive again and she is starting to feel freedom. She said it over and over under her breath “Free, free, free! ” (46) with these words we share Mrs. Mallard’s feelings of excitement and her hopes.

So at this point Mrs. Mallard finally understands what has taken over her. It was the other half of her soul that has been hidden once she was married, but now that she is a widow, she let entire soul go free. “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death” (46). Here, it seems like Mrs. Mallard is feeling bad for feeling this way about her husband’s death; happy and excited.

But then we get reassured that even though she feels this way, she is still not going to change her excitement into grief, “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely” (46). Mrs. Mallard is now finally happy and completely excited about her new adventures of life. Mrs.

Mallard goes out of the room as “a goddess of victory” (47). When we take the first look at this, it seems like this is finally it, she will go out and live for herself. But when Mrs.Mallard’s husband opens, “the front door with a latchkey” (47), there then go all her hopes and dreams to die.

Her husband had no idea that they all thought that he was dead because if he did, then he would be much more cautious about breaking the this news to her. In the end, Mrs. Mallard “dies of joy that kills” (47). These words mean the opposite of what they say. We can see that the doctors are wrong. The doctors think that she died because she was so happy to see her husband alive.

But it was the total opposite. Mrs. Mallard chose rather to die than to live again with her husband, and under his will.Because after experiencing freedom, even for just one hour, she understood that it was not worth living unless she was free. This short story has brought Mrs. Mallard and the readers through all of these behaviors that were so strong.

Her behavior in the beginning is completely different from the end. Mrs. Mallard started to see a completely different side of the tragedy. She also started to see the bright side of things, and so she started to change for the better. It seems like this “one hour” was the only real, truly meaningful hour of her life.