Story of an Hour by Kate Hopkins

The story of an hour written by Kate Hopkins in 1984 discusses the story of Mrs. Mallard, who has a heart condition and her husband, Brently Mallard, is perceived to be dead as a result of a train crash. In the presence and support of Mr. Brently Ballard’s friend, her sister Josephine breaks the news to her but she is cautious when doing it because of her heart problem. Upon receiving the news, she reacts immediately and cries into the arms of her sister and then withdraws and goes into a room and locks herself. In the room, she sits close to an open window and observes and listens to what is happening outside. She is then overcome with emotion that she cannot explain and tries to resist it, but it overwhelms her. She realizes that she feels happy and looks forward to the many years of freedom that she will spend alone although she loved her husband dearly. She realizes that for the first time in a long time, she will live only for herself and even prays that she may live for many years to experience the joy of freedom. Her sister gets worried about her and thinks that she may get herself ill and goes to the room to check on her. The door is, however, locked and she requests her to open the door which she does after she assures her that she is okay. She walks with her sister downstairs where her husband’s friend, Richard, is waiting. It is then that someone opens the door and, to their surprise, they realize that it is Mr. Mallard. Richards tries to shield Mrs. Mallard from seeing her husband but it is too late because she has already seen him. He is not aware of the accident that had allegedly taken his life. Mrs. Mallard dies upon seeing him and according to the doctors that examined her, the cause of death was because her weak heart could not withstand the sudden joy that she had experienced after she saw her husband.

Kate Hopkins in the story shows a negative image of marriage by representing a woman who is excited at the idea of her husband’s death. Through the words she uses in the story, we get to understand the woman’s reaction when her sister tells her of her husband’s demise. Although she is visibly sad at the beginning, after reflecting upon his death when alone, she feels happy and cannot wait to spend the rest of her life alone and enjoy freedom (Harington 78). The author also helps us to understand that marriage is not all rosy because there are moments that an individual does not love their spouse because Mrs. Mallard states that she had loved her husband sometimes. Through Mrs. Ballard’s reaction, we learn that marriage is not a rosy affair as people perceive it to be. This is because it is because upon her husband’s death, Mrs. Ballard feels that she can finally enjoy freedom something that she had been deprived off in her marriage. The words muttered by the woman “free body and soul free” confirms how happy she was about the loss of her husband.

By using the words, “she would live for herself”, we get to understand that in marriage, people tend to lose themselves and concentrate on the lives of their partners. They focus more on ensuring that the other person is living well and forget about their wellbeing. It is only through the death of the spouse that a person can begin to experience freedom and by the author saying that Mrs. Mallard “breathed a quick prayer for life to be long” indicates that she had been deprived of freedom for a long time. Although she loved her husband and would mourn his death, the freedom she would experience would supersede the feeling of loss.

Kate Hopkins uses irony and metaphor in the story by describing Mrs. Mallard as a woman with “heart trouble”. This heart problem may have been a medical condition that may have come as a result various factors in her life. After reading through the story, we learn that the cause of her heart trouble may have been her being unhappy and lack of freedom in her life. This may have affected her to an extent where she gets a weak heart that makes people around her cautious about breaking the bad news to her. In the end, she dies because of a heart disease that the doctors term as a disease “the joy that kills”. According to the doctors and her family and friends, her death may have been as a result of the happiness she experienced when her husband returned alive (Harington 77). As readers, the diagnosis was wrong because she was already happy with the idea that she will spend her life alone, and she will experience the freedom that she had not had a chance to enjoy after she got married. The reason of her death may have been because of the shock of seeing someone that her husband who was supposedly dead. It may have been caused by the disappointment that she felt at the thought that she will not be free, and she will lose her newly acquired freedom.

It is also ironical that Mr. Mallard who had been thought to be dead ends up to live while Mrs. Mallard who had celebrated his demise dies. Dramatic and situational irony is witnessed when Josephine relentlessly requests her sister to open the door thinking that she may make herself ill and harm herself. In the real sense, the thought of harming herself is not on her mind, and she is instead focusing on how great her life will be and the new beginning that she has been awarded.

Kate Hopkins uses symbolism in the story. An example is springtime that we learn of when Mrs. Mallard looks through the window. The spring life made the top of the trees aquiver. This represented her life her life that would go through a new beginning. Her heart was happy and hopeful at the prospect of starting a new life without feeling oppressed and unhappy.

The author uses simple words the storythat can be understood easily by the readers. It is through the words that we understand Mrs. Mallard’s feeling of sadness after she is informed of her husband’s death and the sudden excitement she deals with after realizing that she will be free from living in the world where her husband was the center of her life. The user also uses words and expressions that help the readers understand the emotions of the characters in the story. The use of repetitive language such as “free, free, free!”  helps the reader to understand the extent to which Mrs. Mallard was excited about the joy of having her freedom. It also shows that she was shocked and surprised at the idea because it was unexpected. The words used in the story also evoke emotion in readers because we learn of how she feels and her reaction. From the words, “she wept at once with sudden abandonment in her sister’s arms” we understand that she experienced grief and sadness because according to her, her life revolved that of her husband’s and his departure would leave a void.  After crying and locking herself in a room, she relaxes and experiences “monstrous joy”, and this shows us that the feeling she experienced was something that she had never felt in her life. It showed that even with the loss of her husband, she could still be happy, even though others may term it as a wrong. The words “feverish triumph in her eyes” also helps us to understand the extent of her joy that could be seen in the way her eyes glowed with happiness and from her actions.

The author also helps us to understand the importance of family and friends. It is Mrs. Mallard’s sister, Josephine, who broke the news to her after she was informed by Richards who was present when news of the train accident was received. Friends and family are concerned for our wellbeing and Josephine demonstrated this by ensuring that she took great care when breaking the news to Mrs. Mallard. She unveiled the news to her in broken sentences that gave her hints about the situation. She understood that her heart was weak and overwhelming her with news of such intensity at once could affect her (Harington 80). Richards was also concerned about Mrs. Mallards, and he did not want her to be affected by the reappearance of her husband by trying to block her husband when he walked through the door.

For the narration of the story, the author does not use the first person but instead uses a narrator’s voice to pass the message. The narrator knows many details about Mrs. Ballard, and it is through her narration that we get to understand her physical looks, feelings about her husband, and the joy she felt when she learned of Mr. Mallard’s death. The author, however, does not reveal the feelings of Mrs. Ballard, and she lets the readers judge it for themselves.The description of the narrator helps us to understand Mrs. Mallard’s actions, and this further helps the reader to judge her feelings.

The author also ensures that the story has a systematic flow by introducing to the readers Mrs. Mallard’s story. Readers understand who she is and her close family and friend, we get to learn of her husband’s demise and her reaction after receiving the news. We also get to learn of her husband’s return and the reason he is still alive, and we eventually see the death of Mrs. Mallard. The systematic flow of the story ensures that readers do not get confused and understand the story easily. The story is also presented in short paragraphs and sentences that make it easy for the read through the story.

Work Cited

Harrington, E. Scribbling Women & the Short Story Form: Approaches by American and British.

            New York:  Peter Lang Publishing Inc, 2008. Web