The Story of an Hour Mrs. Louise Mallard Quotes

The idea of being "free" has to escape from Mrs. Mallard. It's not as though she readily admits it or eagerly shouts it out. She barely opens her mouth and barely raises her voice. The word "free," itself described as tiny, has to sneak out of her.

Significantly, the emotions Mrs. Mallard feels in this moment are powerful and strong. This can be seen in the repeated use of exclamation points, the repeated emphasis on the idea of "freedom," and the combination of her entire body and soul being caught up in this feeling. However, it seems like the feelings are almost too strong to be expressed. Mrs. Mallard can only "whisper" them.

Weirdly, the concept of freedom seems to take over Mrs. Mallard's body. She's "powerless" to stop the feeling of freedom from "possess[ing] her," even though the idea of freedom traditionally seems to indicate choice and personal authority. Here in order to be free, Mrs. Mallard can't be free from her idea of freedom.

Can love really just be cast aside like this? Here, Mrs. Mallard reduces it to the "unsolved mystery" and presses on, casting aside her feelings for her husband and however many years they've been married for this freeing idea of "self-assertion." It's hard to say if she's crazy with grief, if she's in denial, or if it's possible to be unhappy in a purely regular marriage. You know, like Don and Betty Draper in Mad Men.

One could argue, in a moment like this, that Mrs. Mallard is putting aside the much larger grief that her husband's death has caused because she understands that she'll "weep again" when she sees his body. This makes it sound like she's trying to concentrate on freedom and other ideas that will distract her from her grief. Of course, this idea seems to be undercut by the other passages describing just how much this newfound freedom means to her.

The parallel structure of this sentence almost seems to imply that Mrs. Mallard is "no one"' there's "no one to live for" so "she [will] live for herself." In each part of the sentence, the verb used is the same, so "no one" and "herself" occupy the same relationship. Either Mrs. Mallard thinks that "no one" values her, or she's suggesting that it's only possible for her to be "herself" if there's no one else around.

In contrast to her sister's fear that she is making herself sick, Mrs. Mallard seems to think that she's never felt more alive. In opening herself up to this idea of freedom and letting go of the shackles of marriage, Mrs. Mallard seems to be reviving herself with a "very elixir of life." Unlike other elixirs, though, this one can't promise immortality. It's as if it's so powerful that it burns right through her system, leaving her with nothing to defend herself with against the shock of seeing her husband again.

Up to this point, Mrs. Mallard has been dreading the rest of her life. It's only once she thinks her husband has died and she's free that she's excited about living. In another example of Chopin's ironic style, though, this "prayer" goes unanswered.