Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour is a thrilling story about a woman called Mrs. Mallard, whose husband is suspected to be involved in an accident. One of her husband’s friends, Richard, receives the message that Mr. Mallard had died in the accident and tells it to a number of people. Some people close to the wife of Mr. Mallard wonder how they are going to break the news to Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard is finally informed by her sister Josephine, she is so grief-stricken that she goes to sit alone in a room, contemplating how she would cope with life without Mr. Mallard. Later on, it occurs that there was a miscommunication, and Mr. Mallard was not even at the scene of the accident. When he enters the house, his wife becomes so much overjoyed that she dies of heart attack (Chopin 1).
The story is organized in a very creative way to effectively achieve suspense throughout. First, the reader cannot tell what will be the reaction of Mrs. Mallard upon being informed of her husband's death. Additionally, Mr. Mallard’s return home was totally unforeseeable. The description of the emotional reaction of Mrs. Mallard is also very vivid. The fact that the story ends on a bad note leaves the reader also emotionally affected.
The main character, Mrs. Mallard, is very emotional in comparison to the others, though her reaction can also be attributed to the closeness of the relationship with Mr. Mallard. Upon receiving the sad news of her husband’s death, she becomes so much emotionally troubled that she locks herself up. When her husband comes in, she is unable to control her emotions once again. The author says that she had a piercing cry. "He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife." (Chopin 2). It is her joy that leads to a heart attack and, consequently, death. Richard, Josephine and the other bystanders can be said to be gossipers. When the false news of Mr. Mallard's death reaches them, they are quick to spread it, and the death of Mrs. Mallard can be solely attributed to the gossip attitude of these characters.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." n.d. Holt McDougal Online. Web. 12 May 2016. <http://my.hrw.com/support/hos/hostpdf/host_text_219.pdf>.
