Discussion 1 — “The Story of an Hour”
Please post in this board TWICE. First, isolate five key words or phrases from the short story that summarize the story in its entirety (a
phrase is no more than four or five words). In your post, explain why you’ve chosen the five words or phrases and HOW they manage to summarize
the whole story.
For your second post, comment on (no more than 150-200 words is necessary for this one).
Heart Trouble: Mrs. Mallard, or Louise, had a heart problem, which is the cause for the very end of the piece. Her heart was unable to handle
not the news that her husband was dead, but rather the shock that came when she found out he was alive.
Free! Body and Soul Free!: Louise believed she was finally free from her husband’s grasp from the news of his death. She was the free in the
sense that she could finally live for herself and live a life she wants. We see that in the end, while she is still free, she is not free in the
way she wanted. Her husband is alive and she is dead. Her own death had set her free, yet she is unable to live this life she hoped for.
Joy that Kills: Mrs.Mallard’s heart trouble was triggered by shock, fear, and overall, joy. She was so overcome with the joy of her husband’s
death that when she saw her husband, the shock was too much for her to handle. It was so overwhelmingly painful for her to grasp and process
that it killed her. Ultimately, the doctors had believed she died from the joy of seeing her husband again, but really it was the shock that
crushed her hopes, dreams, and her happiness.
Hidden feelings: It is shown that Mrs.Mallard hides her feelings about her husband for years and upon hearing the news of the accident, she
hides her pure joy and happiness by locking herself in her room where no one can see her. She has hidden her dissatisfaction with her marriage
and life up until now and she will only hide her glee from others but will soon find herself free to do as she pleases. Yet her feelings remain
hidden until the end since she is never given the chance to express them properly due to her sudden death.
Misinterpretations: The story is filled with misinterpretations, especially about one’s feelings. We think, like every other character, that
Louise is shocked and heart broken over her husband’s death. We misinterpret her shock as mourning, but in reality, she is filled with joy.
Josephine misinterprets Louise’s feelings, along with sees her locking herself in her room as her isolating herself out of grief and depression
when it is the exact opposite. It happens again at the end, with the doctors. They think her heart gave out due to the shock and pure joy of
seeing her husband safe and sound when Mrs. Mallard’s shock was not one of happiness, but rather pure fear and distraught.
-You can feel free to agree or disagree with them, just don’t be rude or confrontational! Disagreement is perfectly fine::
Discussion Two — “The Story of an Hour”
Consider how this short story quickly takes the reader through an hour in a woman’s life — when so much occurs so quickly. Is there a
relationship between the content of this story (the quick news, the very brief mourning, the sudden turn of events, etc.) and the way in which
the story is told? In other words, does a relationship exist between form and content in this story?
