who dies at the end of the story of an hour
The Story of an Hour The short story describes the series of emotions Louise Mallard endures after hearing of the death of her husband, Brently, who reportedly died at work in a train accident. After hearing the news, Mrs. Mallard begins to feel a weight lifted off her shoulders. She immediately mourns the loss of her husband and makes way to her room upstairs. She sits down and looks out the window. She sees the nature and new life outside. While she is locked inside, a strange feeling comes over her. She begins to feel an unexpected sense of exhilaration, whispering, "Free! Body and soul free!" She begins to think of all the springs and summers she can enjoy without her husband around.[3] Her sudden rush of excitement is what she believes to be a benefit of his death. Along with all the excitement, Mrs. Mallard still grieves for her husband and knows she will cry about it later. Furthermore, as stated at the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard has heart trouble. Therefore, when her sister and her husband's friend, Richards, find out Brently is home, they attempt to inform her, in a gentle way to avoid shocking her, that her husband actually wasn't near or even aware of the train accident. Mrs. Mallard's sister begs her to open the door, as she is scared that Louise will become ill. As Louise and her sister descend the staircase, Brently enters the house. Louise suffers a heart attack upon realizing that he has not died, and she is stuck in her marriage to him after all. The story concludes with doctors blaming Louise's death on heart disease, from a "joy that kills". This is ironic, as it is implied that she actually died of grief over having her supposed freedom suddenly ripped away from her.