Assignment #7

Miguel A. Gutierrez
Professor: Luke Vasileiou
Eng:102.0826
May,2nd,2010


Desires That Can Kill



Lierature is an amazing sourse of knowledge and ideas, and a place where we can find stories of all kind, which besides entertain us, also could be a good study case. For example the short story of Kate Chopin "The Story of an Hour" on where the main character, Mrs. Mallard in just a short period of time she herself face a predicament of what to do after she got the news about her husband's death. For one side she has the option of become a sad and humble "good wife", and cry endlessly for the lost of the caregiver of the house, but Goethe other way she has a world of new visualization, and do what she always was willing to do, like if a dream was fullfiled for her, but at thesame time is the fear of the new and unknow what paralyze to Mrs. Mallard to look forward and to go beyond her own dreams.

The most amazing of this Chopin's short story is exactly the title. The story of an hour empathizes presicely that the predicament of Mrs. Mallard occurs in just one hour so. The narrator do not indicates for how long the couple was living together as spouses, and neither also tells us about the afflictions Mrs. Mallard have had during the cojugal life, we assume that she was doing no so happy in her personal life as a woman, because when she got the news of her husband death instead getting the reaction like some other widows, she did as the narrator say: "She said it over and over under her breath: "free,free, free!" [...] "Free! Body and soul free!". She kept whishpering."(317). This constantly thought about freedom was resembling in Mrs. Mallard mind, because she she had the becessity of give up with conveniences and just be free.

But as I said before, something was holding Mrs. Mallard to don't take action like if she was really improsoned in the fear of what could happen to her and her necessities. In psychology exist a theory called "attachment" and it consist in a product of the activity of a number of behavioral systems that have proximity to a person. In Mrs. Mallard Case that person was her husband, as a predictable outcome. "Attachment is also a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of a comfort, care, and pleasure."(Bowlby 172). And was exactly that bound who tied Mrs. Mallard to her husband who was the comfort, care and pleasure giver of the house.


The story of an houris full of symbolisms which describes the mood state of the main character of the story, for example when the narrator say: "She could see in the open square before her house the top of trees that were all aquiver which the new spring life"(316). This last quotation shows us how she was willing to see for the top of the trees who represents the manly society of her time, and the new spring of life represents the desire to be free in the new opportunity who was presented to her with the news of her husband death . But indeed the narrator said also: "There where patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met an piled one above on the west fancing her window."(316). In what denotes inestability and lack of decision. The window represents the desire of freedom, but at the same times represents a barrier where you can see the horizonte but you cannot go forth of that point.

The end of the story tells us that Mrs. Mallard die after known that in reality her husband was not dead, and after all that predicament she was dealing with the husband knocked the door and appear on front of her and even when we don't know what was the reaction of Mrs. Mallard when saw Mr. Mallard's face we can assume that was something that her fragile and already sick heart couldn't handled. The news of her husband death give her a new breath of hope but the news about her husband was still alive takes to Mrs. Mallard as the narrator say: " To the joy that kills"(318). And is ironic how the death for Mrs. Mallard meant a new begins, but the live of her caregiver meant the lost of everything.

The story of an hour was an ironic story on how a woman who was looking for freedom of her own oppresion, found the death after having tasted tv potential of being free regardless her inner fear and insecuritoes she experiment a transformation of. Passive subject to a more independent character.



Work Cited

Bowlby, Jhon. Attachment and Loss: vol I, 2nd ed. New York, Basics Books. Print

Kennedy, X.J., & Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River NJ: Pearson, 2008. Print