The short story titled ‘the Story of an Hour’ is authored by Kate Chopin.

The Story was

written in 1894 when the society was significantly different than it is now in various aspects. The
story falls under the genre of a short narrative. The story narrates the final moments of Mrs.
Mallard who has a heart ailment. Due to her condition, her family and friends prefer to provide
information to her gradually to avoid shocking her which could worsen her illness. Her sister
receives the news of train accident whereby among the people who perished is Mr. Mallard, her
husband. After gradually letting her on the news, Mrs. Mallard is distraught with grief. She locks
herself in a room and as she processed the news, she finds relief in the fact that now she is an
independent woman. She prays for a longer life. Soon after she leaves the room alongside her
sister, her husband opens the door. It turns out the news of his death was erroneous. Mrs. Mallard
dies of what doctors term as joy. The story was a recommendation from a friend. The story
illustrates how the unexpected could shift one’s life for the better.
Mrs. Mallard had learned to live with her husband who bent her will to his liking. In the
nineteenth century, women were a lot less free than they are today. From the story, Mrs. Mallard
was at home while her husband was away working. She heavily relied on her husband for her
livelihood. Therefore, the news of his passing was difficult to accept. She struggled to grasp the
news as she received it “…with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance”. At first she
could not perceive any positive aspect of the news. She was too held up by the past that it was
difficult to imagine a future alone.
After a moment of processing the news, she accepted her fate and inadvertently realized
that she will be free from the shackles of a marriage which suppressed her liberty. She was
young and strong yet her face had lines that were evidence of resistance to repression. After
living with her husband, autonomy and freedom were foreign concepts to her. After receiving the
news of his passing, it was difficult to accept that she were free. “She did not know; it was too
subtle and elusive to name”. The story illustrates the concept of what we don’t know we are
missing because we have never experienced it. After living under certain constraints, it is
difficult to conceive a life without such constraints. Therefore, oppression thrives through the
perpetration of ignorance.
Mrs. Mallard was in an unhappy marriage. She “had loved him--sometimes. Often she
had not”. Despite her situation, it was difficult to come to terms with the fact that her happiness
could only come from her husband’s death. She however welcomed the news as her
emancipation. She could now live free from undue coercion and influence. At the time of the
story’s writing, thoughts of women free from marriage bonds were conceived as immoral.
Today, there are actions that are not encouraged that will be considered appropriate in the future.
Often times, an individual lives in a comfort zone without any ambition to leave the zone.
This is reinforced by the fact that they know no better. When life’s circumstances change into an
unknown state, it is difficult to accept the new reality despite the fact that it brings better tidings.