The Love That Kills: The Story of an Hour Essay Example

It would be only fair to say Brently Mallard loves his wife, but this is a kind of that possessive feeling which makes its addressee feel like a bird in a gilded cage: cherished, yet imprisoned. When Mrs. Mallard thinks of her husband, she remembers him with fondness recalling his "kind, tender hands" (Chopin) and "the face that had never looked save with love upon her" (Chopin). Mr. Mallard is portrayed as a loving and caring partner. Mrs. Mallard admits that "she had loved him - sometimes" (Chopin). After all, the "storm of grief" that Mrs. Mallard goes through is genuine. Yet, it is also quite obvious that she feels utter joy when she realizes she is liberated from her husband's love and care. Mrs. Mallard realizes only too well why she was so unhappy in her married life, the reason was "powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" (Chopin). In her marriage, she was never given the freedom of choice and could not decide for herself, even if her husband was limiting her freedom out of the kindest intentions. Mrs. Mallard experiences a very profound insight when she thinks, "A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime" (Chopin). Stifled by such an overpowering and controlling love, the young woman lost her zest for life, her days became dull and gray. This is why it can be said that her husband's possessive love was slowly killing her.

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When Mrs. Mallard learns about her husband's death, she experiences an absolutely new kind of love - love for herself, for her own identity, for the new free life that is waiting for her. This makes Mrs. Mallard see all the things around in a new way. Even the good old furniture in her room looks different, it seems she notices it for the first time when she sees the "open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair" (Chopin). When she looks outside, it is as if a dark veil has dropped and nature has revealed its beauty to her. Mrs. Mallard sees "the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life" (Chopin), feels "the delicious breath of rain" (Chopin), hears "the notes of a distant song which some one was singing" (Chopin) and "countless sparrows twittering in the eaves" (Chopin) - all her senses are wide awake now. It seems she has been sleeping and only when her husband dies, she opens her eyes and looks around. With her husband's death, she has finally started to live. The future seems to be a dream for her, a wonderful dream from the original title of the short story - "The Dream of an Hour" (changed later to "The Story of an Hour") where the key word "a dream" is a striking opposite of the dull, gray daily routine. Once Mrs. Mallard learns that Mr. Mallard is alive her chance to live freely and fully is taken away from her. Her love for her new self, her new life, and its possibilities is too strong to be too easily subdued. It causes such a powerful clash of emotions that Mrs. Mallard's heart cannot survive it.

Conclusion

So, all in all, one can say that there are two opposing forces, two loves, that kill Mrs. Mallard. One of them is her husband's stifling, possessive love which gradually drained the life from her. The second one is Mrs. Mallard newly-found love for freedom which is too strong to be held back. The necessity to hide it and live a life in the gilded cage again is the last straw that breaks Mrs. Mallard's heart.

Work Cited

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." KateChopin.org, 2017, www.katechopin.org/story-hour/.