The Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin

Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.

It was her sister Josephine who told her. in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of “killed.” He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.

She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralysed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her

There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the caves.

There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window. She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.

There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.

Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been…

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!” The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.

She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.

She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.

There would be no one to live for during those coming years, she would live for herself. There would be no 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. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

And yet she had loved him sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!

“Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering.

Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. “Louise, open the door! I beg, open the door-you will make yourself ill. What are you doing Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.”

“Go away. I am not making myself ill.” No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.

Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister’s waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.

Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry, at Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

এক ঘণ্টার গল্প
কেট শপাঁ

মিসেস ম্যালার্ডের হৃদরোগ আছে জেনে, তাঁর স্বামীর মৃত্যুর খবরটি তাঁকে জানানোর জন্য বিশেষ যত্ন নেওয়া হয়েছিল, যেন যতটা সম্ভব কোমলভাবে বলা যায়।
তাঁর বোন জোসেফিন ভাঙা ভাঙা বাক্যে, আংশিকভাবে গোপন রেখে ইঙ্গিতের মাধ্যমে খবরটি দিলেন।
তাঁর স্বামীর বন্ধু রিচার্ডসও কাছে ছিলেন। তিনি পত্রিকার অফিসে ছিলেন, যখন রেল দুর্ঘটনার খবর আসে, যেখানে ব্রেন্টলি ম্যালার্ডের নাম নিহতদের তালিকার প্রথমে ছিল।
তিনি আরেকটি টেলিগ্রাম পাঠিয়ে খবরটির সত্যতা নিশ্চিত করে নেন এবং দ্রুত এসে পৌঁছান, যেন কোনো কম যত্নশীল বা কম সহানুভূতিশীল বন্ধু খবরটি না দেয়।

তিনি খবরটি সেভাবে শোনেননি, যেভাবে অনেক নারী শুনে স্তব্ধ হয়ে যান, বিশ্বাস করতে অক্ষম হয়ে।
বরং তিনি হঠাৎ, অপ্রতিরোধ্যভাবে কেঁদে উঠলেন, বোনের বুকে মুখ গুঁজে।
শোকের ঝড় থেমে গেলে তিনি একা নিজের ঘরে চলে গেলেন।
তিনি কাউকে তাঁর পিছু নিতে দিলেন না।

ওপাশে খোলা জানালার সামনে একটি আরামদায়ক, প্রশস্ত হাতলওয়ালা চেয়ার ছিল।
তিনি তাতে ডুবে গেলেন, শরীরের ক্লান্তি যা আত্মার গভীর পর্যন্ত ছড়িয়ে পড়েছিল তাকে চেপে ধরেছিল।
তিনি দেখতে পেলেন, তাঁর বাড়ির সামনে চত্বরে গাছের ডগাগুলো নতুন বসন্তের জীবনে কাঁপছে।
বাতাসে বৃষ্টির মিষ্টি গন্ধ।
নিচে রাস্তায় এক ফেরিওয়ালা তার পণ্য বিক্রি করছে।
দূরে কেউ গান গাইছে, তার সুর হালকা ভেসে আসছে, আর অগণিত চড়ুইপাখি ছাদের কার্নিশে ডাকছে।

আকাশে এখানে সেখানে নীল টুকরো দেখা যাচ্ছে, পশ্চিমে মেঘগুলো একটার ওপর একটা জমে উঠেছে।
তিনি চেয়ারের কুশনে মাথা ফেলে স্থির বসে আছেন, শুধু মাঝে মাঝে কান্নায় গলা কেঁপে উঠছে, যেমন একটি শিশু কান্না থামিয়ে ঘুমিয়ে যাওয়ার পরও স্বপ্নে সোব করে।
তিনি ছিলেন তরুণী, সুন্দর শান্ত মুখ, যেখানে দমিত অনুভূতির ছাপ ও এক ধরনের দৃঢ়তার ইঙ্গিত ছিল।
কিন্তু এখন তাঁর চোখে শূন্য দৃষ্টি, যা দূরের নীল আকাশের টুকরোতে স্থির।
এটি কোনো চিন্তাশীল দৃষ্টি নয়, বরং বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিক চিন্তার সাময়িক স্থগিতাবস্থা।

কিছু একটা তাঁর দিকে আসছে, এবং তিনি সেটির জন্য অপেক্ষা করছেন, ভয়ে।
কী সেটা, তিনি জানতেন না; এত সূক্ষ্ম ও অধরা যে নাম দেওয়া যায় না।
কিন্তু তিনি তা অনুভব করলেন—আকাশ থেকে নেমে আসছে, শব্দ, গন্ধ ও রঙের ভেতর দিয়ে তাঁর দিকে এগিয়ে আসছে।

এখন তাঁর বুক তীব্রভাবে ওঠানামা করছে।
তিনি বুঝতে শুরু করলেন সেই অনুভূতিকে, যা তাঁকে গ্রাস করতে চলেছে, এবং তিনি চেষ্টা করলেন তা ঠেকিয়ে রাখতে—যেমন তাঁর দুটো সাদা, সরু হাত ব্যর্থ হতো।

যখন তিনি নিজেকে ছেড়ে দিলেন, তাঁর ঠোঁট থেকে আস্তে আস্তে একটি ফিসফিস শব্দ বেরিয়ে এল।
তিনি তা বারবার বললেন—“মুক্ত, মুক্ত, মুক্ত!”
শূন্য দৃষ্টি ও ভয়ের ছায়া চোখ থেকে মিলিয়ে গেল।
চোখ দুটি তীক্ষ্ণ ও উজ্জ্বল হয়ে উঠল।
তাঁর নাড়ি দ্রুত চলল, রক্ত সারা শরীরে উষ্ণতা ছড়িয়ে দিল, পেশি শিথিল হল।

তিনি ভাবলেন না এটি কোনো ভয়ানক আনন্দ কিনা।
তাঁর স্বচ্ছ ও উদ্দীপ্ত উপলব্ধি তাঁকে এই প্রশ্নকে তুচ্ছ করে তুলতে সাহায্য করল।

তিনি জানতেন, তিনি আবার কাঁদবেন, যখন দেখবেন সেই স্নেহময় হাতদুটি মৃত্যুর শীতলতায় নিস্তেজ, সেই মুখ যা শুধু ভালোবাসার দৃষ্টিতে তাঁকে দেখেছে, এখন স্থির ও ধূসর।
কিন্তু তিনি সেই তিক্ত মুহূর্তের পরও দেখতে পেলেন—আসন্ন বহু বছরের দীর্ঘ মিছিল, যা পুরোপুরি তাঁর নিজের হবে।
তিনি হাত মেলে তাদের স্বাগত জানালেন।

আসন্ন বছরগুলোতে কারো জন্য বাঁচতে হবে না—তিনি নিজের জন্য বাঁচবেন।
কোনো শক্তিশালী ইচ্ছাশক্তি তাঁর ইচ্ছাকে বাঁকাবে না, যেমন পুরুষ ও নারী মনে করে তারা অন্যের ওপর নিজের ইচ্ছা চাপানোর অধিকার রাখে।
সেটা সদিচ্ছা হোক বা কুটিল ইচ্ছা—তিনি এই সংক্ষিপ্ত আলোকিত মুহূর্তে তা সমানভাবে অন্যায় মনে করলেন।

তবুও, তিনি কখনো কখনো তাঁকে ভালোবেসেছেন।
প্রায়ই তিনি ভালোবাসেননি।
কিন্তু তাতে কী আসে যায়!
যখন তিনি নিজের আত্মনিয়ন্ত্রণের অধিকার পেয়েছেন—যা হঠাৎ তাঁর কাছে জীবনের সবচেয়ে প্রবল তাগিদ হয়ে উঠেছে—তখন ভালোবাসা, সেই অনসিদ্ধ ধাঁধা, কতটুকুই বা মূল্য রাখে!

“মুক্ত! দেহ ও আত্মা মুক্ত!”—তিনি ফিসফিস করে চললেন।

জোসেফিন দরজার ওপাশে হাঁটু গেড়ে, ঠোঁট চাবির ছিদ্রে লাগিয়ে অনুরোধ করছিলেন, “লুইস, দরজা খোলো! অনুরোধ করছি, দরজা খোলো—তুমি নিজেকে অসুস্থ করে তুলছো। কী করছো, লুইস? ঈশ্বরের দোহাই, দরজা খোলো।”

“চলে যাও। আমি নিজেকে অসুস্থ করছি না।”
না—তিনি সেই খোলা জানালা দিয়ে জীবনের এক অমৃত পান করছিলেন।

তাঁর কল্পনা ছুটে চলছিল ভবিষ্যতের দিনগুলোর দিকে—বসন্তের দিন, গ্রীষ্মের দিন, এবং নানা ধরনের দিন, যা তাঁর নিজের হবে।
তিনি দ্রুত প্রার্থনা করলেন, যেন জীবন দীর্ঘ হয়।
কেবল গতকালই তিনি শিউরে উঠেছিলেন এই ভেবে যে জীবন হয়তো দীর্ঘ হতে পারে।

অবশেষে তিনি উঠে দরজা খুললেন বোনের অনুরোধে।
তাঁর চোখে ছিল জ্বরোত্তপ্ত বিজয়ের ঝিলিক, আর তিনি অজান্তেই নিজেকে বিজয় দেবীর মতো বহন করছিলেন।
তিনি বোনের কোমর জড়িয়ে ধরলেন, একসাথে সিঁড়ি বেয়ে নেমে এলেন।
নীচে রিচার্ডস অপেক্ষা করছিলেন।

ঠিক তখনই কেউ সামনের দরজা ল্যাচকি দিয়ে খুলছিল।
ভিতরে ঢুকলেন ব্রেন্টলি ম্যালার্ড—হালকা ভ্রমণধূলায় মলিন, শান্তভাবে তাঁর হাতব্যাগ ও ছাতা হাতে।
তিনি দুর্ঘটনার স্থান থেকে অনেক দূরে ছিলেন এবং জানতেনই না যে কোনো দুর্ঘটনা ঘটেছে।
তিনি স্তম্ভিত হয়ে দাঁড়ালেন—জোসেফিনের তীক্ষ্ণ চিৎকারে, রিচার্ডসের দ্রুত পদক্ষেপে যা তাঁকে তাঁর স্ত্রীর দৃষ্টি থেকে আড়াল করতে চাইল।

Theme: The story portrays the conflict between the desire for personal freedom and the constraints of society. It shows how a woman can be overwhelmed by the feeling of independence, even if it comes from a tragic event. The story touches on the complexity of human emotions and the question of individuality within marriage.

থিম: গল্পটি ব্যক্তিগত স্বাধীনতার আকাঙ্ক্ষা ও সামাজিক বাঁধনের মধ্যে সংঘাত তুলে ধরে। এটি দেখায়, কিভাবে একজন নারী হঠাৎ স্বাধীনতার অনুভূতিতে অভিভূত হতে পারে, এমনকি তা দুঃখজনক ঘটনার ফল হলেও। গল্পটি মানব আবেগের জটিলতা ও বিবাহে ব্যক্তিস্বাতন্ত্র্যের প্রশ্নকে স্পর্শ করে।

Summary: Mrs. Mallard, upon hearing the news of her husband’s death, bursts into deep grief and retreats alone to her room.The spring scene outside the window and a sense of freedom awaken a new emotion in her heart. She realizes that from now on, her life will be entirely her own and no willpower will control her. This thought fills her with joy and relief, although she knows she will cry for her husband again. But just then, her husband returns alive, suddenly overturning the situation.

সারসংক্ষেপ: মিসেস ম্যালার্ড তাঁর স্বামীর মৃত্যুর খবর পেয়ে গভীর শোকে কেঁদে ওঠেন এবং একা ঘরে চলে যান। জানালার বাইরে বসন্তের দৃশ্য ও মুক্তির অনুভূতি তাঁর মনে নতুন এক আবেগ জাগায়। তিনি উপলব্ধি করেন যে এখন থেকে তাঁর জীবন কেবল তাঁর নিজের হবে এবং কোনো ইচ্ছাশক্তি তাঁকে নিয়ন্ত্রণ করবে না। এই চিন্তায় তিনি আনন্দ ও স্বস্তি অনুভব করতে থাকেন, যদিও জানেন স্বামীর জন্য আবার কাঁদবেন। কিন্তু ঠিক তখনই স্বামী জীবিত অবস্থায় ফিরে আসেন, যা হঠাৎ পরিস্থিতিকে উল্টে দেয়।

B Answer the following questions.

1. Who had brought the news of Mr. Brently Mallard’s death?
2. How did Mr. Mallard die, according to the rumour?
3. Why was everyone scared of breaking the news to Mrs. Mallard?
4. How did Mrs. Mallard react after getting the death news?
5. How did her reactions change when she went to her room?
6. Why do you think Mrs. Mallard felt happy and free?
7. What do you mean by the statement “a joy that kills”?
8. What happened to Mrs. Mallard at the end of the story?
9. What was Mrs. Mallard’s first name?
10. What was Mr. Mallard’s first name?
11. Why did Josephine want to break the news to Mrs. Mallard gently?
12. What was Mrs. Mallard’s physical condition?
13. Who was Josephine to Mrs. Mallard?
14. Who was Richard?
15. How did Richard confirm the news of Mr. Mallard’s death?
16. What did Richard do to get the news?
17. Where was Mr. Mallard supposedly when the railroad disaster occurred?
18. What did Josephine do while telling the news?
19. How did Mrs. Mallard respond to the news at first?
20. What was her initial reaction like?
21. Where did Mrs. Mallard go after her initial reaction?
22. What did she do when she went to her room?
23. What was the weather like outside her window?
24. What was she seeing through the window?
25. What kinds of sounds was she hearing?
26. What was the “monstrous joy” that was possessing her?
27. What was she thinking while looking out the window?
28. What was the main feeling she was experiencing?
29. What did she keep whispering to herself?
30. What was the thing she was not supposed to feel?
31. Why did she fear that the feeling would go away?
32. What did she think about the future?
33. How did she view her husband’s love for her?
34. What was the central emotion she was trying to suppress?
35. Why did Josephine fear that she was making herself ill?
36. What was Josephine doing outside the door?
37. Who came to the door with Josephine?
38. What was the “possession” that was taking over her?
39. What was the thing that Mrs. Mallard was now looking forward to?
40. What was the “long procession of years to come”?
41. What did she believe was her new identity?
42. What did she feel was the greatest thing in life?
43. What was the thing that she had feared before?
44. What did she think about her love for her husband?
45. Who came up the stairs at the end of the story?
46. What was his appearance like?
47. What did he have under his arm?
48. What was the reaction of Richard and Josephine to seeing him?
49. What happened to Mrs. Mallard when she saw him?
50. What was the cause of her death, according to the doctors?
51. What was the real cause of her death?
52. Why did she die after seeing her husband?
53. How did Josephine and Richard react to her death?
54. What was the irony in the doctor’s diagnosis?
55. How did Mrs. Mallard perceive her marriage?
56. What was the central conflict in the story?
57. What was the significance of the open window?
58. What does the title “The Story of an Hour” suggest?
59. How was Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition a physical manifestation of her emotional state?
60. What was the thing that was “sweeping over her like a storm”?
61. What was the “elixir of life” to her?
62. What was the “prayer” she whispered to herself?
63. Who was at the center of her new life?
64. What did she do with her hands while in her room?
65. What was the “thing” that she tried to beat back?
66. What was the “delicious abandon” she felt?
67. What was the thing that she was now “unbidding”?
68. What was the “feverish triumph” she was experiencing?
69. What did she think about the future years of her life?
70. How did she feel about the idea of being a widow?
71. What did she feel about her sister’s presence?
72. What was the most important thing to her after the news?
73. What was the “mysterious joy” that she felt?
74. What was the effect of the news on her body?
75. What was the difference between her public and private reactions?
76. What was the thing that she now considered “the most potent drug”?
77. What was the “perceptive intelligence” she had after the news?
78. What did she see in the clouds outside the window?
79. What was the “new spring life” she was looking forward to?
80. What was the “goddess of Victory” that was taking over her?
81. What was the “quickened pulse” that she felt?
82. What was the “freedom” that was possessing her?
83. What was the “thing that was not of this world”?
84. What was the “long procession” that she was looking forward to?
85. What did she realize about her own will?
86. What was the thing that she had “to beat it back with her will”?
87. What was the thing that she now considered “a useless emotion”?
88. What was the “thing that had been her past”?
89. What was the “thing that was her future”?
90. What was the “thing that she no longer had to fear”?
91. What was the “thing that she now had a sense of”?
92. What was the thing that she had been a “possession” of?
93. What did she think about the “imposing” figure of her husband?
94. What was the “bitter moment” she had to face?
95. What was the “thing that she had to put on” at the end?
96. What was the “thing that she could not bear to lose”?
97. What was the “thing that had become too precious” to her?
98. What was the thing that “she was too late to find”?
99. What was the “thing that the doctors did not know”?
100. What was the true cause of the “joy that kills”?

Answers:

1. Richard, a friend of Mr. Mallard, had brought the news. He was the one who had been at the newspaper office when the news of the railroad disaster came through.
2.  

According to the rumor, Mr. Mallard died in a railroad disaster. He was on the list of killed in the news reports.

Everyone was scared of breaking the news to Mrs. Mallard because she had a weak heart. They feared the shock of such tragic news would be too much for her to bear.

4. After getting the death news, Mrs. Mallard reacted with a “sudden, wild abandonment.” She wept with great emotion in her sister’s arms.
5. When she went to her room, her reactions changed from overt grief to a sense of dawning freedom. She began to feel an overwhelming joy at her new life, free from marriage.
6.  

Mrs. Mallard felt happy and free because her husband’s death meant she was no longer bound by her marriage. She was now an independent woman who could live for herself.

7. The statement “a joy that kills” is an ironic one made by the doctors. They believe she died from the shock of joy at seeing her husband, but the real cause was her overwhelming sorrow at the loss of her newfound freedom.
8.  

At the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard died of a heart attack. This happened right after she saw her husband, Brently Mallard, walk in the door, alive and well.

9. Mallard’s first name was Louise. The story reveals her first name after she has her moment of realization in the room.
10. Mallard’s first name was Brently. This is mentioned when the story introduces him as the man who was presumed dead.
11.  

Josephine wanted to break the news gently because Mrs. Mallard had a weak heart. She was afraid that a sudden shock would kill her.

Mrs. Mallard’s physical condition was that she had a weak heart. This detail is given at the beginning of the story to explain the careful approach of the others.

Josephine was Mrs. Mallard’s sister. She was the one who first told Louise about her husband’s death.

14. Richard was a friend of Brently Mallard. He was the one who was at the newspaper office and brought the news.
15.  

Richard confirmed the news by checking with the newspaper office. He received a telegram with a list of the people killed in the railroad disaster.

Richard was at the newspaper office when a telegram with the news of the railroad disaster came. He waited for a second telegram to confirm the names on the list.

According to the rumor, Mr. Mallard was supposedly in a railroad disaster. The train was wrecked, and he was believed to have been a victim.

While telling the news, Josephine “half-veiled hints” and “broken sentences.” She was trying to break the news to her sister as gently as possible.

Mrs. Mallard responded to the news at first with a “storm of grief.” She cried on Josephine’s shoulder, demonstrating what everyone expected from a newly bereaved widow.

Her initial reaction was one of intense, passionate grief. It was an outward display of sorrow that showed she was truly affected by the news.

After her initial reaction, Mrs. Mallard went to her room. She locked the door and sat alone in a comfortable armchair.

22. When she went to her room, she sat down and began to process the news. She gazed out the window and slowly felt a sense of freedom begin to wash over her.
23.  

The weather outside her window was a beautiful spring day. The tops of the trees were a vibrant green, and the air was filled with the scent of rain.

24. Through the window, she was seeing a “new spring life.” She saw the open square in front of her house, the birds chirping, and the patches of blue sky.
25. She was hearing sounds of life, such as the cries of a peddler below, the distant song of someone, and the chirping of sparrows. These sounds stood in stark contrast to her grief.
26. The “monstrous joy” that was possessing her was the overwhelming sense of freedom. It was a feeling she was ashamed of, but one that was too powerful to suppress.
27. While looking out the window, she was thinking about the years to come that would now belong to her. She was thinking about how she would live for herself from that day forward.
28.  

The main feeling she was experiencing was a sense of utter freedom and liberation. This feeling was so powerful that it possessed her completely.

She kept whispering “free, free, free” to herself. This repetition highlights her growing realization of her newfound independence.

The thing she was not supposed to feel was a sense of joy and relief. Society expected her to feel only sorrow and despair at her husband’s death.

She feared the feeling would go away because she was initially trying to push it back with her will. The feeling was so strong and new that she was afraid of losing it.

32. She thought about a long, independent future. She anticipated a life of self-assertion where she would be free to make her own decisions.
33.  

She viewed her husband’s love for her as a kindness, but it didn’t outweigh her desire for freedom. She didn’t feel a passionate, consuming love for him.

The central emotion she was trying to suppress was the “monstrous joy.” She fought it because it was a feeling she knew she was not supposed to have.

35. Josephine feared that she was making herself ill because she could hear her sister moaning. She misinterpreted her moans of joy for moans of grief.
36. Josephine was kneeling on the floor outside the door, begging her sister to let her in. She was worried that Louise was in a state of distress.
37. Brently Mallard came to the door with Josephine and Richard. He was alive and well, having been far from the scene of the accident.
38.  

His appearance was calm and composed, with a traveling bag and an umbrella. He was unaware of the tragedy that had just unfolded in his home.

He had a traveling bag and an umbrella under his arm. He was simply coming home from his journey, not knowing he had been presumed dead.

The reaction of Richard and Josephine was a quick, horrified movement to shield Mrs. Mallard. They were shocked and tried to keep her from seeing him.

When she saw him, Mrs. Mallard let out a faint cry and fell to the floor. The shock of losing her freedom was too much for her weak heart.

42. According to the doctors, the cause of her death was “a joy that kills.” They thought she died from the overwhelming shock of seeing her husband alive.
43. The real cause of her death was the immense emotional shock of losing her freedom. The joy she had been feeling for the past hour was suddenly and completely taken from her.
44. She died after seeing her husband because the shock of seeing him alive killed her newfound hope for freedom. The prospect of returning to her confined life was unbearable.
45. The story doesn’t explicitly state their reaction, but it implies they were in shock and grief. They would have been trying to comfort her and figure out what happened.
46. The irony in the doctor’s diagnosis is that the true cause of death was the opposite of what they believed. She did not die from joy, but from the sudden, unbearable loss of joy.
47.  

Mrs. Mallard perceived her marriage as a form of confinement and oppression. She felt a sense of freedom and release upon the news of its end.

The central conflict in the story is an internal one within Mrs. Mallard. She struggles between the social expectation of grief and her personal, overwhelming feeling of liberation.

The significance of the open window is that it symbolizes the new life and freedom that is now available to her. It is a portal to the world she can now live in on her own terms.

The title “The Story of an Hour” suggests that a life-changing event can occur in a very short period of time. In just an hour, Mrs. Mallard experiences love, grief, freedom, and death.

Her weak heart condition was a physical manifestation of her emotional state, symbolizing her suppressed spirit and fragile will. It reflects her vulnerability to both emotional shocks of grief and joy.

52. The thing that was “sweeping over her like a storm” was the sensation of “joy.” It was an intense, powerful emotion that she couldn’t control.
53. The “elixir of life” to her was the freedom she felt. It was a potent, life-giving feeling that filled her with vitality and hope.
54. The “prayer” she whispered to herself was “free, free, free!” She whispered this in a moment of utter triumph as she embraced her new life.
55.  

She was at the center of her new life. She looked forward to a future where she would live solely for herself and her own desires.

While in her room, she clasped her hands together and tried to beat back the feelings of joy. This shows her initial resistance to her new emotions.

57. The “thing” she tried to beat back was the “monstrous joy.” She fought it because it was a feeling that was socially unacceptable for a grieving widow.
58. The “delicious abandon” she felt was a complete surrender to her feelings of freedom. It was a moment of utter release from the constraints of her old life.
59. The thing that she was now “unbidding” was the oppressive expectations of her marriage. She no longer had to answer to anyone but herself.
60.  

The “feverish triumph” she was experiencing was the victory over her old self and her old life. She was triumphant in her newfound independence.

61. She thought about the future years of her life with a sense of excitement and possibility. She looked forward to a long life of self-assertion and freedom.
62.  

She felt a “feverish triumph” about the idea of being a widow. It was not sorrow, but a sense of victory over the constraints of her life.

She felt that her sister’s presence was an impediment to her joy. Josephine was a reminder of the role she was supposed to be playing as a grieving widow.

64. The most important thing to her after the news was her new-found freedom. It was more important than anything, including the life she had with her husband.
65. The “mysterious joy” that she felt was the sense of freedom and independence she had never experienced before. It was a feeling she couldn’t name or explain at first.
66. The effect of the news on her body was a sense of renewed vitality. Her pulse quickened and her blood ran warm, in contrast to her weak heart.
67. The difference was that her public reaction was one of expected grief, while her private reaction was a genuine, shocking joy. She was a different person in private.
68. She now considered “freedom” the most potent drug. This is a powerful metaphor for the exhilarating and intoxicating nature of her new life.
69. Her “perceptive intelligence” was a new clarity of thought that came with her freedom. She was able to see her life and marriage with new, clear eyes.
70. She saw the clouds outside the window as symbols of her new, boundless existence. They were “patches of blue sky showing here and there.”
71. The “new spring life” she was looking forward to was her own personal rebirth. She felt as though she was being born again into a new life of independence.
72.  

The “goddess of Victory” that was taking over her was the immense feeling of triumph she felt. She had won her life back.

The “quickened pulse” she felt was a physical sign of her renewed vitality and energy. It shows that she was coming alive in a way she hadn’t before.

74. The “freedom” that was possessing her was the complete absence of a will to follow but her own. She was no longer bound by anyone or anything.
75.  

The “thing that was not of this world” was the overwhelming sense of joy. It was a feeling so profound and powerful that it seemed otherworldly.

76. The “long procession” that she was looking forward to was the long, independent life ahead of her. She was no longer facing a future of submission but of self-determination.
77.  

She realized about her own will that it was now her own. She no longer had to bend her will to her husband’s, but could make her own choices.

The thing she had “to beat it back with her will” was the overwhelming joy she felt. She was initially ashamed of the feeling and tried to suppress it.

79. She now considered love a “useless emotion” in her new, free life. While she felt some love for her husband, it was not as important as her freedom.
80. The “thing that had been her past” was a life of submission and marriage. She was now leaving that past behind for a new, independent future.
81.  

The “thing that was her future” was a life of freedom, self-assertion, and independence. It was a future where she was the mistress of her own life.

The thing she no longer had to fear was the idea of a long life. Previously, the thought of a long life with her husband was a burden, but now it was a joyful prospect.

83. The “thing that she now had a sense of” was her own identity. She was finally able to see herself as an individual, not just a wife.
84.  

She had been a “possession” of her husband and her marriage. She was defined by her role as a wife, but now that was gone.

85. She thought about the “imposing” figure of her husband with a sense of detachment. She saw him not as a husband, but as a man who had exerted his will upon her.
86. The “bitter moment” she had to face was the fact that she had loved her husband at times. This conflicted with her feelings of freedom.
87.  

The “thing that she had to put on” at the end was her mask of grief. She was being forced to return to the role she had just escaped.

88. The “thing that she could not bear to lose” was her newfound freedom. It had become more precious to her than life itself.
89. The “thing that had become too precious” to her was her sense of self-ownership. She had tasted freedom, and now she could not live without it.
90. The thing that “she was too late to find” was her own independence. She found it in the last hour of her life, and it was quickly taken from her.
91. The thing that the doctors did not know was the true reason for her death. They couldn’t comprehend that joy could be a killer if that joy was freedom.
92. The true cause of the “joy that kills” was the loss of the joy of freedom. The immense disappointment of having her husband return was what killed her.
93. She thought of her husband’s imposing figure as a symbol of her oppression. He was not a cruel man, but his mere presence was a constraint on her will.
94. The bitter moment she had to face was the realization that sometimes she had loved her husband. This complicated her pure joy of being free.
95. The thing she had to “put on” at the end was her grief. She was forced to return to her role as a sorrowful widow for her husband’s return.
96. The thing she could not bear to lose was her freedom. It was the “monstrous joy” that had taken her over, and she couldn’t face a life without it.
97. The thing that had become too precious to her was her sense of self and the future that she had built in her mind. It was a life of her own.
98. The thing she was “too late to find” was her freedom. She found it in the final hour of her life, only to have it snatched away from her.
99. The thing that the doctors did not know was the true nature of her death. They didn’t understand the depth of her desire for freedom and the anguish of its loss.
100. The true cause of the “joy that kills” was the shock and crushing disappointment of losing her newfound freedom. Her heart failed from the reversal of her great triumph.