The Story of an Hour

The Story of an Hour Summary | Detailed Summary

Mrs. Louise Mallard had heart trouble, so she had to be told as gently as possible that her husband had died. Her sister, Josephine, broke the difficult news, as her husband's friend, Richards, sat nearby. Richards was the one who first learned about Brently Mallard's death. He had been in a newspaper office when news of the disaster was received. Brently's name was at the top of the list of those killed. Richards had quickly gone to the Mallards' house because he was afraid that someone else might tell Mrs. Mallard about the death in a way that would shock her weak heart.

Upon hearing that her husband was dead, Mrs. Mallard immediately began to cry in her sister's arms. She then went alone to her room, refusing to allow anyone to go with her. Once alone, she sat in armchair, looking out the window. The news of Brently's death had left her physically exhausted. Mrs. Mallard looked at the open square in front of her home. She noticed the wonderful smell of fresh rain in the air and the sounds of birds singing their songs. She sat, occasionally sobbing. As time passed, Mrs. Mallard began to feel an emotion coming over her that she could not identify. It seemed be coming out of the sky and from the sounds and smells drifting through the window. She suddenly began to feel her chest rising. Her pulse began to beat faster and blood coursed through her body, warming her. "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!'" She did not question whether the joy was pure or monstrous. She immediately decided it did not matter.

She thought that she would cry when she saw her husband's hands folded in his casket. He had always looked at her with love and it would be difficult to see his dead body. However, she could look past the difficult funeral and see the years to come. She opened her arms to welcome the rest of her life. For the first time, she would be in charge of her own existence. No other person would be able to make decisions that affected her or impose their will upon her. She thought about the way men and women often believe they have a right to impose their wishes on someone else. In an instant, it occurred to Mrs. Mallard that bending another person's will is wrong, whether the intention behind the act is cruel or kind.

Mrs. Mallard thought again that she had sometimes loved her husband. Yet, often she did not love him. Then it occurred to her that whether or not she had loved him no longer mattered. Love was small compared to the new revelation that she would be free for the rest of her days. The urge to be free struck her as the strongest impulse she had ever experienced.

Josephine crouched outside of the bedroom door, talking into the keyhole. She begged Louise to open the door. She was afraid her mourning sister would make herself sick. Louise refused, saying she would not make herself ill. In fact, Louise realized she was drinking in an "elixir of life" through the window. She sat there, thinking about all of the years that would follow. Only the day before, she had wished for a short life. Now, she wanted her life to extend for as long as possible so she could enjoy her new freedom.

Finally, she decided to go to her sister. She walked out of the room triumphantly and put her arms around her sister's waist. They walked downstairs together where Richards was waiting. As they descended, someone was unlocking the front door. Brently Mallard walked in, carrying his bag and an umbrella. He had not been anywhere near the scene of the accident. In fact, he did not even know that an accident had occurred. Josephine cried out and Richards tried to keep Mr. Mallard's wife from seeing her husband. However, Richards acted too late. She instantly died. The doctors diagnosed it as heart disease: "of joy that kills."