“Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible...”
Kate Chopin1,000 wordsBeginner
The Story of an Hour
Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband's death in a railroad accident. After initial grief, alone in her room she discovers an unexpected feeling of freedom and independence. She whispers "free, free, free!" and begins to imagine a self-directed future. When her husband unexpectedly walks through the door alive, she collapses and dies - doctors say of "joy that kills."
Literary FictionIronySymbolism
