The work will examine the marriage of Mallards, the couple from the piece of literature entitled “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin. This work makes a reader question the feelings between Louise Mallard and her husband, Brently, as the author gives clues that point out opposite views about whether the marriage is happy or not. After discovering the news of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard behaves as any other woman would do. She perceives predictable feelings of loss, as “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone,” which evidence the presence of strong negative emotions (Chopin, 1).
The other indicator supporting the point of view that Louise loves her husband and her heart is broken because of his death is that “there was a dull stare in her eyes” (Chopin, 1). The mentioned evidence shows that she temporarily lost her will to live because of grief.
However, further, in the text, readers obtain clues that indicate the opposite. Louise clearly says over and over that she is “free, free, free!” which shows that the loss of Brently makes her happy from obtaining the freedom (Chopin, 2). Finally, the author strengthens the second impression with words, “she was drinking in a very elixir of life” and “she had died of joy that kills” (Chopin, 3). It evidences that Louise is incredibly fascinated by her husband’s death. To conclude, it is likely that the marriage is normal, as Louise loves his husband, despite all the restrictions she has to face, but she also decides to live like a young lady, without any commitments, which makes her happy.