Wei Fu Hsieh

The Story of an Hour

After Louise Mallard learned the death of her husband, a great sadness struck her at once. Accepting the fact little by little made both her body and soul exhausted. The exhaustion wasn't caused by the news itself, but the big change in her life. All of a sudden she had to live for herself and start a brand new life, this idea was too unbelievable to be true. All the time she was longing for the years to come, the life that belong to her only. She had been repressed, in order to devote herself to her husband and her family. Her will had been bent, because of her husband's whether kind or cruel intention, yet she lost herself in this sense. Therefore her face indicated oppression and obedience. Louise Mallard was unwilling to live the miserable life but was too impotent to do anything about it. The great ecstasy about her husband's death, see from paragraph 16, she kept whispering "Free! Body and soul free!" Louise Mallard was that kind of traditional woman who would stay home and spend the entire life taking care of the family, but deep down her heart seeking the unthinkable freedom.

Finally Louise found her life meaningful, because there wouldn't be anyone to control over her. She didn't show too much emotion when she heard the bad news; she went back to her room and then alone savored the monstrous joy. No one knows Louise's real thought, that she was overjoyed and spreading her arms to the wonderful life without her husband. Thus, when Brently Mallard appeared in the face of Louise, she was so shocked that she died from heart disease. It was logical but inaccurate that the doctors said she died of joy that kills. She was expecting those days ahead of her, and she even prayed that life could be long. Spring days, summer days, and all the days that would be her own. She was going to enjoy her life as much as possible. Just the moment she saw her husband, her long-awaited life has broken into pieces. This unbearable dream-broken caused her death.