Interpatation Essay, Research Paper

What Does It Really Mean?

?The Story of an hour? a complex piece of literature by Kate Chopin, has various interpretations to it. This story has, one definite interpretation, which is the following: life has to go on no matter what is happened in the past. In this story, Chopin implies Ms. Mallard?s husband has been very cruel to her in her lifetime. However, she never lets her husband get in the way, finally he dies, and, she thinks she is free although she really is not.

To prove that Chopin implies Ms. Mallard?s husband was cruel to her. Chopin states, ?When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free!? (para, 11). Now when will someone say I am free, free, free after his or her beloved dies. That shows that there were some problems between them and at that point, she had stopped weeping and starts to overlook what had happened. So now, she is ready to live life the way she wanted to in the first place. Unlike other wives who were still crying, she knew life must go on so she was over the fact that her husband was dead. For her it was better, he is dead because she was going on about being free, free, free.

To support what Chopin is trying to say here is a description of what Ms. Mallard is feeling like at the time of her husbands death: ?They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body? (para, 11). Now if your significant other passed away would your body be relaxed? In this case, it seems like she is feeling a feeling she has never felt before, very relaxed and calm.

In addition, al though out the story Ms. Mallard is caught stating ?Free Body and soul free!?(para, 16). This only shows that Ms. Mallard?s is more satisfied that her husband has died, than she is upset.

The end to this story enhances Chopin?s explanation because once she finds out that her husband is not dead it puts her in so big of a shock that she dies herself. The story gives a reason for her death which said, ?When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease ? of joy that kills?( para, 23).

This means she knew that she was going to loose all the freedom she dreamt about as her husband strutted in through the doors, so she passed away. However, the instant that she found out that her husband was not dead it made her think of all the things that are going to change back to normal. Which it looks like she did not want so she went into a state of shock and had a heart attack.

Therefore, in conclusion, this story has many meanings but that one I pulled out from the story was that life has to go on no matter what is happened in the past. During the whole story she thinks not of her husband but of the future without her husband.