<P> The heroine of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", Louise Mallard, is known to be suffering from a weak heart . After the death of her husband, Mrs. Mallard was unable to shake the thought of being free from her husband . The word "free" began to haunt her mind, free from oppression . Daniel P. Deneau mentions about a continuous debate about Mrs, Mallard's personality . "Is Louise a normal, understandable, sympathetic woman, or is she an egocentric, selfish monster or anomaly?" What is understood is that Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death allowed readers to view the "selfish monster" side of her . After being released of her husband's grasp, she began to find relations to the world . Normal women would have gone into grief and weep in sorrow; however, Mrs. Mallard's reaction towards her husband was a passionate reaction that had caused the audience to question her personality . Mrs. Mallard's irregular reaction caused readers to question her emotions towards the husband's death . Throughout "The Story of an Hour", her constant baffle on freedom had led readers to confusion whether her heart condition has anything to do with her reaction . Selina S. Jamil exclaims to her audience that," Mrs. Mallard's "heart trouble" (193) is not so much a physical ailment...as a sign of a woman who has unconsciously surrendered her heart (i.e., her identity as an individual) to the culture of paternalism ." in which she goes through a stage where she appears "optimistic" towards life . Then, in result, Mrs. Mallard's weak heart, which is supposed to be frail, and her fear soon transforms into joy that is uncontrollable to begin with . Chopin's interpretation of Louise Mallard is not similar to most women at all . "As her body responds to her emotions, she feels a rhythmic connection to the physical world" (Jamil), by repeating words like "free" in her head has shown that her emotions towards the loss of her husband has enhanced her connection to world . </P> <P> Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" presents the heroine as a heartless person who does not fear the death of her husband, but instead is filled with glee and joy . Nicole Diederich questions the "focus on the challenge the ending poses to the reader" (Diederich 117) about how the audience sees her death . Her husband's death was another way to escape the marriage she was binded to whereas her death was also another escape that was expressed at the end of the short story . Heidi Podlasti - Labrenz also supports that Mrs. Mallard was under Brently's influence by stating, "...her strength of character and willpower are apparently mostly controlled and absorbed by Brently Mallard's well - meant but forceful dominance" and claims that her actions as this "crazed" human being was just a reaction after being freed from marriage . Mrs. Mallard, as a character, shows that she was aware of her actions through Brently's arrival . "But, for one climactic hour of her life, Louise does truly taste joy," (Jamil) which happens to cause her frail heart to collapse . Louise Mallard's personality in "The Story of an Hour" was understood to portray an unthoughtful image of what a wife should be . Her actions were to "illustrate the dangers of making assumptions" (Mayer) and in result, her weakened heart had taken her life . Her sister thought of her behavior as nothing but a sickness . Josephine had not thought that her sister's actions were to match her personality, but to think that Louise's reaction was her reaching existentialism . It was not her mind going crazy, but Louise "reaching existentialism" is her finally realizing her time and place as this new awakened being . When the thought of being free in mind and soul, existentialism, that's when she began to act as if she was not normal . </P> <P> The article "Marriage and The Story of an Hour" suggests that Chopin's short story demonstrates that marriage is not always what it appears to be, and that the journey to freedom can be dangerous . Chopin shows her readers that the love of only one partner in a marriage is not indicative of a mutual relationship . In the story, Louise says that she loves her husband sometimes, and in the article it suggests that maybe her husband was cruel; so even though she did indeed love him, she also loves her prospective freedom from him . </P> <P> The open window through which Mrs. Mallard gazes for a majority of the story is a sign of the freedom and opportunities that await her through her newfound independence . "She hears people and birds singing and smells a coming rainstorm . Everything that she experiences through her senses suggests joy and spring--new life ." Mrs. Mallard can look into the distance and see nothing but a clear bright future ahead of her . </P>

The story of one hour kate chopin summary