Double-Entry Journal: Kate Chopin “The Story of an Hour”
Observation from Text
1. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted
with a heart trouble, great care was taken to
break to her as gently as possible the news of
her husband's death.”
2. “There was something coming to her and
she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it?
She did not know; it was too subtle and
elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out
of the sky, reaching toward her through the
sounds, the scents, the color that filled the
air.”
3. “There would be no one to live for during
those coming years; she would live for
herself.”
4. "’Free! Body and soul free!’ she kept
whispering.”
5. “When the doctors came they said she had
died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.”
Analysis/Connection
1. Within the first sentence of the story, the
audience is introduced to the potential
protagonist, Mrs. Mallard. The mentioning of
her heart trouble and husband’s death can
serve as the potential conflict of the plot, or
it can foreshadow something to come towards
the climax of the story.
2. One main literary term used in many short
stories is foreshadowing. Since this story is
about death, this passage can foreshadow the
ending of Mrs. Mallard’s death. “it was too
subtle and elusive to name” has supernatural
connotations and relates greatly to the notion
of death.
3. This short story can be analyzed as a story
about a woman’s freedom/escape from the
constraints of man. Mrs. Mallard within this
quote, finally realizes she can live according
to herself, rather than being tethered to her
husband, a prevalent notion during Kate
Chopin’s time as a writer.
4. This small and brief statement can be seen
as the penultimate climax of the short story.
It seems as if Mrs. Mallard is having her first
moment of clarity within her life, although it
can be argued that her seeing her husband is
still the final climax.
5. After the climax of the short story, Mrs.
Mallard’s husband coming back, the event that
follows is Mrs. Mallard’s death. This can be
seen as the resolution of the story, or the
falling action. This sudden appearance of her
husband results in her death because she is
now aware she is still bound to him, not free.