summary of the short 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 was reported to have died in a train accident. Mrs. Mallard suffers from heart problems, as stated at the beginning of the story. Therefore, her sister and her husband's friend, Richard, attempt to inform her of the news in a gentle way so as not to shock her too much. Mrs. Mallard 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 locked inside, a weird feeling comes over her and confusion follows immediately after. She begins to feel an unexpected sense of exhilaration, yelling, "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 exhilaration 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. Her sister begs her to open the door; 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 receiving the shock that he has not died, and she is stuck in her marriage to him after all. The story ends with doctors blaming Mallard's death on heart disease; from a joy that kills. This is ironic as it is implied that she actually died of grief of having her supposed soon to be freedom suddenly ripped away from her.