Topic > Analysis of “The Story of an Hour”: Being Burdened in Marriage

The Story of an Hour describes what happens in a marriage when a wife receives news of her husband's death from her office friend, Richard and her sister, Giuseppina. They carefully break the news to her because she has a heart problem. The story gives us an insight into her feelings and thoughts towards this heartbreaking event where in the finale she makes a shocking discovery that her husband is alive and it kills her. From this story we can see the “Restrictions/Oppressions of Marriage”. Although their marriage is one of love and kindness, she feels joy when she believes her husband is dead, but is limited by the thought of being happy without her husband. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayLouise Mallard is an independent and intelligent woman. Louise knows that wives must mourn the death of their husband, but she doesn't allow it to make her feel empty, so she cries. In her thoughts she believes that she has been deprived of independence by the nature of marriage. His heart problem represents ambivalence towards his marriage. She realizes the freedom she will have without her husband. Louise is not done crying for a dear husband as she longs to see his face and feel his touch. However, the “open window” represents the lack of restrictions and determination, which she never thought about while her husband was alive. Once again she allows herself to dream of the freedom that allows her to accept excitement. This helps her look forward to the years to come where she will live for herself. He imagined a long-lived life with opportunities for its fulfillment. Louise was ready to accept a life where she had to worry about herself. After her self-determination, being ready to move forward and having a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts flood her imagination. Louise goes downstairs to find out later that her husband is alive. Louise Mallard died of a heart attack due to shocking news once again and the disappointment of her freedom being taken away from her marriage once again. Setting: Marriage Institute Louise Mallard's heart problems are both physical and psychological conflicts in this story. Physically we can see a problem with him at the beginning. Her heart beats fast and she, weakened by the news, locks herself in the room to understand what it means for her. Louise regains her strength when she thinks about her newfound freedom from having to live for another person. Here the story describes it this way: “She didn't stop to ask herself if it wasn't a monstrous joy that was holding her back.” Psychologically she thought about what it would mean to hear the news of her husband's death again. His grief was due to the fact that Mr. Mallard was no longer living, but not simply living without him. The death of her life gives her a new perspective on life, but it is only taken away when she comes back alive. Louise Mallard is very emotional because she is denied the possibility of freedom. Shock and disappointment kill her. The hour-long story is told by the third-person narrator as it relates to Louise Mallard's emotions of the news. The story is like a big screen and the readers watch it. The narrator tells us more about what the main character thinks and no one else. We can see where she begins to relate to the character's emotion in the third paragraph when she says, "Into this she sank, crushed by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul." The narrator also refers to the thoughts that pass through the character's mind. When she refers to freedom with the death of her husband. We see it here when he says, “She would live for herself.” There would be no will.