The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin - Book Report/Review Example

Download file to see previous pages At the discovery of Mr. Mallard's fatal accident, Mrs. Mallard's sister and a family friend are seen to take a lot of time to decide and devise a friendly mode of telling her sister that her husband has died. At that moment, Mrs. Mallards expresses her emotional distress by getting into her room to be by herself. While there, she realizes that she is free for the first time. Even though they both loved themselves sincerely, her consciousness radiates with the idea that she is free from imperialism.
She feels better at the knowledge of her emotional and gender freedom and resolves to look forward with hope and not with sorrow. However, she has her freedom short-lived as she is shocked to death at the site of Mr. Mallard, who just pops in from nowhere alive and well. The story reveals the tyranny of imperialism of fear, uncertainty and the mix between love and emotional freedom that encapsulates the characters (Kate).
Mrs. Mallards is confused and seemed to be under the dictates of nature, first she is imperialized with her heart condition. This makes her fragile, and any person handling her has to be careful, not to make her feel uncomfortable or shocked lest she fall sick or die suddenly. Secondly, at the knowledge of the alleged husband's death, she grieves but then she realizes that her emotional freedom had finally dawned which is not dependent on her husband, she looks at the future with optimism and courage. This indicates a lack of freedom that she has been presenting in secret. This results in her death when she learns that her husband is not death, and, therefore, her freedom is neither here nor there.
Her heart condition does not allow her to free express herself naturally since it could lead to her death at any time. Because of that, her sister and a family friend are also put in the situation of lack of freedom in terms of self-expression in handling Mrs. Mallards, when expressing any situation to her sick sister she has to be conscious and careful and surprise or shock her. She has to try and make everything even tragedies to look normal to avoid the uncertainty of any eventuality with her sister.  ...Download file to see next pagesRead more