Mrs. Mallard\'s Character in \"The

¶ … Mrs. Mallard's Character in "The Story of an Hour"

Mrs. Mallard in the Story of an Hour

As the title of the short story indicates, Chopin gives only a very brief insight into the life of the main character, Mrs. Mallard. In the space of an hour however, Josephine Mallard is first reborn and then she dies. Although the details are scarce, Mrs. Mallard emerges almost as a full character. She is obviously a beautiful and intelligent young woman, whose personality is however repressed because of the context in which she lives: she is a wife in a male- dominated world. The most important feature of her character however is her independent spirit. Significantly, when independence seems to be taken away from her once more and the husband whom she had thought dead comes back suddenly, she dies, unable to stand the chains of marriage any longer.

Her free spirit becomes apparent in her immediate reaction to the news of her husband s death. After the first uncontrolled violent crying, Mrs. Mallard goes into her room and thus discovers her true feelings about her husband s death. The withdrawal into her room, away from the others, and the pleasant, cheerful view out of the window bring a sudden realization upon her: the death of her husband actually means freedom, the freedom to live for herself only and enjoy her own life. Mrs. Mallard realizes the importance of a woman's having "a room of her own," that is, her own private world where she can enjoy her own life. The need for a room of her own actually translates as the need of a woman to have her own world that would from where she can see life on her own terms, from her own perspective, and be able to make her own choices. Mrs. Mallard is thus different from the other women of her condition who are happy to comply with the commodity of their lives. Instead of the comfort of a married life where she can have everything she wants from her caring husband, Mrs. Mallard longs for personal freedom and a personal territory that would not be constantly violated by the intrusion of the others.

Thus, Josephine is evidently a woman that feels a strong need for independence. In the context in which she lives however, her desire would be heard as something preposterous. The very brief physical portrait that describes her, already indicates that she bears the marks of a strong personality that is nevertheless repressed: "She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky."(Chopin, 111) Everything about Mrs. Mallard thus betrays her vivid personality and her strong character, which are necessary hidden beneath the usual dullness that is required of her as a woman. The open view available from the window to her is here a symbol for freedom also. Mrs. Mallard looks with delight upon the long years of freedom that lie before her, now that she is no longer married and therefore dependant on her husband: "But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome."(Chopin, 112) the perspective of so many days of freedom that she would spend at her will is clearly dazzling to her. Her need for assertion is obviously urged by the context of oppression in which she lives. At the same time however, this imperative need for independence demonstrates Mallard's strong character that requires a certain space of its own to flourish.