The Awakening, and Selected Stories Chapter Summary & Analysis - The Story of an Hour Summary

The Story of an Hour Summary

Mrs. Louise Mallard learns her husband Brently has been killed in a railroad accident. Her sister Josephine breaks the news to her gently since Louise has a weak heart. Louise goes to her room and asks to be left alone.Louise begins to feel relief that she will now be a free woman. She imagines her future and the endless possibilities now open to her. She can now live for herself and no one else.

Josephine grows worried about her sister and gets her to come downstairs just as the front door opens. Brently Mallard enters. The shock of seeing her "dead" husband alive is too much for poor Louise's fragile heart. After her death, the doctors tell her loved ones that she died of "joy that kills."

The Story of an Hour Analysis

Prized for one of the best endings created by Chopin, this story reveals the shocking idea that a woman's grief could so...
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