The Story of an Hour Essay example -- Kate Chopin

â€Å"The Story of an Hour† By Kate Chopin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin describes the thoughts and feelings that are depicted in a single hour of the life of Louise Mallard after hearing that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident. As the story begins we are told that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with a heart condition so the news of her husband’s death is broken to her gently by her sister. Mrs. Mallard’s initial reaction, upon hearing of her husband’s death is one of grief. She wishes to be left alone to grieve in her room upstairs in the house. However, during the hour she spends sitting in an armchair alone in the room, her state of mind changes dramatically. She is faced with conflicting emotions and although she loved her husband and is very upset by his death, she cannot suppress the thoughts that she is now free to begin a new life without the restraints of having a husband. Mrs. Mallard experiences a joy and hope that will change her life now that she only has herself to think about. The story ends in a dramatic climax when Brently Mallard returns home, unhurt and not dead. The sight of seeing her husband alive causes Mrs. Mallard to die of what the doctors’ say is a â€Å"heart disease – of joy that kills.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Story of an Hour† portrays the social status or the Mallard family as working class. We know this because the author tells us that Brently Mallard works on the railroad. Through...