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The Story of an Hour: Summary | Exercise (Questions and Answers)| Kate Chopin | Neb English Notes
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
ABOUT THE STORY
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
The short story "Story of an Hour" was written by Kate Chopin on April 19, 1894. It was originally published in Vogue as "The Dream of an Hour" on December 6, 1894. It was later reprinted in St. Louis Life as "The Story of an Hour" on January 5, 1895.
The title of this short story refers to the time between the moments when the main character, Louise Mallard, hears that her husband, Brantley Mallard, has died, and then she learns that he is alive. Featuring a female protagonist who feels liberated upon the news of her husband's death, "The Story of an Hour" was controversial by American standards in the 1890s.
Table of Contents
ABOUT AUTHOR
Kate Chopin (1851–1904) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Her father was Irish, and her mother was French. This present story is full of ironies. The central irony is a disturbance in the married life of a woman. It also presents a reversal of traditional ideas about gender relations.
MAIN SUMMARY
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
Mrs. Mallard's husband, Brently Mallard, was found dead in a railroad accident. This news of the death was first received by her husband's friend Richards in his newspaper office. Richards delivered the news to her sister, Josephine. Both of them went to tell the news to Mrs. Mallard. Great care was taken to break the news to her because Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble. When she was told about her husband's death, she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone. No one was allowed to follow her.
She remained in the room and sank into deep thoughts. She was thoroughly exhausted physically. She looked out through the open window and saw everything that was usual in the outer world. She often sobbed like a little child. She was young, with a fair, calm face. She was repressed, but yet she had strength. Her eyes were far lost in distant patches of blue sky. These eyes indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something for what she was waiting for. The environment was felt again as beautiful through the sounds, the scents, and the colour that filled the air. She was approaching a new sense of life. Her bosom was filled with joy. She was going to welcome the new world with her two white, slender hands. Some words through her breath whispered: Free, free, free! She was quite relaxed about the terrible joy. Though she knew that she would weep if she saw a similar thing again, she thought of many years to come that would belong to her. She opened her arms to welcome them. She would now live alone. No one would be with her to bother her with a private will. She had sudden self-assertion as the strongest impulse of her being! She was quite relieved that her body and soul were both free.
Josephine came and asked her to open the door. She thought Mrs. Mallard was going to get sick herself. Quite contrarily, Mrs. Mallard was drinking in the very elixir of life through that open window. She wished that her life might be long. Meanwhile, she released herself from the thoughts. She opened the door Mrs. Mallard's husband, Brently Mallard, was found dead in a railroad accident. This news of the death was first received by her husband's friend Richards in his newspaper office. Richards delivered the news to her sister, Josephine. Both of them went to tell the news to Mrs. Mallard. Great care was taken to break the news to her because Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble. When she was told about her husband's death, she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone. No one was allowed to follow her.
She remained in the room and sank into deep thoughts. She was thoroughly exhausted physically. She looked out through the open window and saw everything that was usual in the outer world. She often sobbed like a little child. She was young, with a fair, calm face. She was repressed, but yet she had strength. Her eyes were far lost in distant patches of blue sky. These eyes indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something for what she was waiting for. The environment was felt again as beautiful through the sounds, the scents, and the colour that filled the air. She was approaching a new sense of life. Her bosom was filled with joy. She was going to welcome the new world with her two white, slender hands. Some words through her breath whispered: Free, free, free! She was quite relaxed about the terrible joy. Though she knew that she would weep if she saw a similar thing again, she thought of many years to come that would belong to her. She opened her arms to welcome them. She would now live alone. No one would be with her to bother her with a private will. She had sudden self-assertion as the strongest impulse of her being! She was quite relieved that her body and soul were both free.
Josephine came and asked her to open the door. She thought Mrs. Mallard was going to get sick herself. Quite contrarily, Mrs. Mallard was drinking in the very elixir of life through that open window. She wished that her life might be long. Meanwhile, she released herself from the thoughts. She opened the door and descended the stairs with her sister. Richards was waiting at the bottom. All of a sudden, Mrs. Mallard noticed Brently Mallard opening the front door. He had been far from the accident. Though Richards tried to hide her husband from the view of his wife, it was too late. Mrs. Mallard had already collapsed. Doctors said that she had died of her heart disease. Great joy killed her.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
1. What fear did Josephine and Richards have about Mrs. Louise Mallard's reaction to her husband's death?
Answer:
Mrs. Louise Mallard and Brently Mallard were a young couple. They had a happy married life. Being a young lady, Mrs. Mallard had a long life. She still had many years to live. Her husband loved her. Yet she was living under her husband's will. Suddenly. Mr. Mallard's friend received intelligence about the railroad disaster in the newspaper office. Mr. Mallard's name was at the top of the list of "killed" in the disaster. This news could be a great shock to Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Louise Mallard had heart disease. Extreme joy or sadness was certainly hazardous to her. They had a fear that she would die of heart disease if they broke the news of her husband's death so suddenly without pre-caution. That's why they were careful about giving her the news.
2. What indications are given to show that Mrs. Mallard was not completely sad about her husband's death?
Answer:
Mrs. Louise Mallard was young and had a fair, calm face. She was married to Mr. Brently Mallard. It was not that she had any complaints of love or care against her husband. It was the uneasiness of living on others' powerful will that had upset her. She disliked the dominating power of her husband, a male superiority. When the news of her husband was exposed to her, she took it a little conventionally. She wept at once with sudden, wild abandonment. Yet she was not paralysed like others. She locked herself in her room, facing outward. She sensed something strange outside in nature.
While she was in deep thought, she saw many years that were coming ahead and that she had to live and pass alone. She had a sudden realisation of free life without any powerful will bending her.
There are many indications that she was not completely sad about her husband's death. The writer speaks of the new spring of life. She mentions a delicious breath of rain in the air. The words of freedom, "Free, Free, Free! escaped through her lips, and she was feeling warmed and relaxed. She had joy and exaltation. She dismissed the thought of death. It came to be trivial. Therefore, she was not completely sad about her husband's death.
3. What is meant by "no powerful will bending her"?
Answer:
Here, "powerful will" signifies patriarchal dominance. Females have been supposed to be foolish and powerless. A woman is robbed of any right to decide herself. She is not treated as an equal. She is always treated as an appendage or possession. Freedom is only a dream that a woman can see, but it is never fulfilled. Mrs. Mallard is self-convinced that all those coming years will be hers, and no one will be for her. No powerful will, like the imposing will of a husband, will be in her life, dominating her. She will be quite free from any obligation. Her body and soul will no longer be under the command of any person.
4. What is meant by "drinking in a very elixir of life"?
Answer:
Mr. Brently Mallard had been reported to be dead in the railroad accident. His friend Richards had received this intelligence about the accident in the newspaper office. Richards and Mrs. Mallard's sister, Josephine, delivered the message very carefully and tenderly so that Mrs. Mallard would not be killed by the shock. She was shocked, but she took the news somehow differently. She locked herself in a room facing outside. She watched outside. Nature was telling her something precious and delightful. She was not completely sad. She was in the pleasant world of fancy. Through the open window, she was seeing the world in a new way. She was going to forget her past and hope well that her future will be joyful in those coming years. She would be alone. She would have a free life. Her soul and mind would be free forever. All these beautiful thoughts were working as the drink of life.
5. What was Mrs, Mallard imagining for her future? How had that changed From her views of the previous day?
Answer:
In the beginning, she was disturbed by the news of her husband's death. Fortunately, she was not killed, though there was fear that the news would do so. She was shocked, but again, she controlled herself and changed herself. She locked herself in a room, looking outside. Nature was beautiful for her. It stood for the freedom that she was looking for. It was not that she had any complaints of love or care against her husband. It was the uneasiness of living on others' powerful will that had upset her. She disliked the dominating power of her husband. That was the cause of the change in her attitude. Just the previous day, she wept with wild abandonment at the news of her husband's death. She was exhausted at the thought of the future. There were black clouds over her. Though she was young, with a fair, calm face, there was a dull stare in her eyes. After passing a day in her despair, the next day she started imagining the future from a different angle, She whispered words of freedom through her lips. She felt warmed and relaxed in the exalted mood of freedom in the future. In those coming years, she would live for herself.
6. Explain Josephine's piercing cry and Richards' wanting to screen Mr. Brently Mallard from his wife's view.
Answer:
Mallard had already been relieved from the intense mood caused by the news of the tragic death of her husband. She was afflicted with heart disease. Extreme joy or sadness could kill her all at once. When the news of Mr. Mallard's death reached the knowledge of Richards, he gave this sad news to Josephine. Then, both of them delivered this news to Mrs. Mallard very carefully and tenderly so that she would take it easily. Though she was shocked, she recovered her conscience and felt relieved and relaxed at the thought of living her free life in those coming years. She was not completely sad. She had realised the significance of her free life. No one would impose on her any powerful will. However, unexpectedly, Mr. Brently Mallard had arrived alive at the door in the scene while Mrs. Mallard was descending the stairs. They thought that she would excite in joy and then die. That's why there was Josephine's piercing cry and Richard's wanting to screen Mr. Brently Mallard from his wife's view.
7. How were the doctors mistaken in their diagnosis of the cause of Mrs. Mallard's death?
Answer:
Mallard received the news of her husband's death from her sister Josephine and her husband's friend Richards. They were very conscious and careful to deliver the news so tenderly because Mrs. Mallard was suffering from heart disease. There was a fear that she would collapse at the news. In fact, she was badly shocked. She locked herself in her room. She was watching outside through her window. She saw beautiful nature outside. She realised the significance of a lonely life. She recovered her conscience. She felt relieved and relaxed at the thought of living her free life in the coming years. She was now not completely sad. She knew that no one would impose on her any powerful will. However, unexpectedly, Mrs. Mallard saw Mr. Mallard, who was, in fact, far away from the scene of the disaster, opening the door latch. Mrs. Mallard was descending the stairs. Then there was Josephine's piercing cry, and Richards was trying to screen Mr. Mallard from his wife's view. Nevertheless, it was too late. Mrs. Mallard had already collapsed. Even the doctors said that she was dead from her heart disease. She was shocked by the great joy caused by the arrival of her husband. The doctors knew the outward situation. They did not study the psychology of the lady. Conventionally, it was not possible, either. All believed that she was shocked at the death of her husband before, and again, she was highly excited about the joy of his arrival. Her extreme joy was the cause of her death. But truly, she was shocked at the unexpected arrival of Mr. Brently Mallard. Her wish of a single, free life was thrashed at once.
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