The Story of an Hour (short story) Research Paper

The Story of an Hour (short story) - Research Paper Example It is only when she retires to her room that the reader realizes the state of the mixed emotions of Mrs. Millard, as she feels both joy and sorrow at the death of her husband. One can infer that she had not been treated well by her husband because trivial misunderstandings do not cause one to rejoice in someone’s death. For the death of a person to cause someone such bliss the reason must be substantial. Later on when Mrs. Millard finds out that her husband is actually alive, she is unable to endure the news and instantly passes away. The plot of the story is very engaging and resonates with the reader on some level. The mood of the story is not the ordinary way in which the story of someone’s death is told; that is the tone of the story sways from sorrow to joy and back again to sorrow. A particular point of interest in the story is when Mrs. Mallard retires into her room and confides in nature as opposed to her sister (Chopin 40). I feel this shows us the conflict between human beings and the social stigmas that exist in the society due to which even though Mrs. Millard felt plagued by her husband she still could not share her happiness over the much anticipated freedom which she finally could see coming. At that point it is revealed to the reader that Mrs. Millard is actually happy about her husband’s death, which twists the perspective by which the reader perceives the story. Later in the story, Mrs. Millard’s sister tries to get her out of her room thinking that she will fall sick alone. At that point, Chopin makes use of dramatic irony because the fact that Mrs. Millar d is happy is known to the reader but not to the character of Mrs. Millard’s sister (Prentice Hall 47). There has been extensive use of imagery in the story, particularly when Mrs. Millard is sitting by the window and certain elements of nature are described: â€Å"But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the