The_Story_of_One_Hour

The Story of an Hour

In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard was told her husband had died in a railroad disaster. However, surprisingly, the fact is her husband had survived. I t’s obvious that drastic changes must have taken place in Mrs. Mallard’s mind when the news of her husband’s death turns out to be false.

Mr. Mallard has been imposing his private will on Mrs. Mallard. She never lived for her herself, but for her husband. When the heroine heard the news of his husband’s death, an unspeakable anticipation took her by storm. She left herself follow the imagination like an unbridled horse. She saw “the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life”, smelled “the delicious breath of rain”, and heard “the notes of a distant song”. She was so happy that all things in her eyes are so lovely and sound pleasant. After ages of caged life like a pet, she can finally get freedom and live the life she wants. Her thought and spiritual life are emancipated. She said it over and over under her breath:”Free, free, and free!”Though she is considered to be sad by the bad news, she can hardly control the joy of the coming of her bright and happy future. Meanwhile, the clouds that had met and piled one above the other stand the heroine’s fear. At one hand, she felt joyful for freedom. On the other hand, she was uncertain and fearful for the future. “The vacant stare and the look of terror went from her eyes.” Faced with the sudden change, the heroine was not sure about her fate. She thought she was like the cloud, floating and drifting with wind. Whether she could live a good life from this moment, she was uncertain.

Perhaps, their marriage lacks nothing but real love. Mr. Mallard’s survive strangles Mrs. Mallard’s new life just as it begins. All of her sweet dreams about futures are killed. She just can’t accept the reality, which makes her feel like a big joke played by God. In her year s’ marriage, she can’t live for her own, which brings her a sort of living death. While her new life that she supposes to be happy and long, is over short within an hour during a spring day. Such a story sets us thinking about what is the essence of love and freedom.