The Story of an Hour
Guitar Girl June 15, 2004 The Story of an Hour Imagine you are at home, engaging in normal activities. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. Standing on the other side, are your sister and your husband’s friend. The news is not good. Your husband is dead. Such is the experience of Mrs. Mallard in Kate Chopin’s short work, The Story of an Hour. This is a woeful tale of a domestically repressed Victorian woman who experiences the momentary joy of freedom after hearing her husband is killed in a railroad accident. Chopin gives the reader two contrasting views of our protagonist – downstairs, a frail, helpless, loving wife and upstairs, a strong, empowered woman who doesn’t realize she is dissatisfied with her marriage until her husband is dead.