Mallard is alive and breathing, but very much dead. Mrs. Mallard acting "involuntarily like a goddess of Victory" after hearing about what should have been the greatest upset of her life is disgusting (Chopin 13). Having a “feverish triumph in her eyes” as she looks forward to a future without her husband, confirms that she feels as if she has won through the loss of her husband (Chopin 14). Her heart did not beat with love and respect for her husband, as it should have. Rather his “pulse beat fast and the flowing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of his body” for the possibility of living without him (Chopin 14). He does not know that being “free, free, free” without him is not living at all (Chopin 14). Laughing, submitting and loving your husband deeply, that's living. The moment Mrs. Mallard chose to see marriage as a binding contract rather than a gift from God is the moment she should have received a death certificate. Seeing death as freedom, thinking that “there would be no one to live for in the years to come; she would live for herself,” gives a peek into her callous heart (Chopin 14). A human being who lives a selfish life, always wanting something better, loses the life he is so determined to find. Living is more than simply breathing. Living is seeking God to make the most of each day He gives you and to make the most of the marriage He has given you. Mrs. Mallard looks forward to the next few years without her husband and rejoices in it