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"She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will—as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been."
This line appears just after Louise locks herself alone in her room to grapple with the consequences of her husband’s death, and it emphasizes the forbidden nature of the joy she feels before she can even put a name to it. The active image of “beat[ing] it back with her will” suggests that she is aware of how inappropriate “this thing” that comes over her is. At the same time, however, Chopin references the stereotype of a weak and helpless woman to imply that Louise’s sense of joy is inevitable and that her prior identity is no match for the one she will ultimately develop.
"She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her."
After she first utters the word “free” to herself, Louise takes a moment to dismiss the question of whether or not the joy she feels is “monstrous.” “Monstrous” can refer to something huge or immense, and while this likely serves as an accurate description of the intensity of her feelings, “monstrous” in this context also means something outrageous or revolting. The negative connotations of the second definition reinforce the notion that the joy Louise experiences may come across as harsh or unacceptable, but she dismisses the idea and embraces her feelings regardless of their consequences.
"When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills."
The details offered in this line, the last of the narrative, symbolize the forbidden nature of Louise’s joyous independence. The “joy that kills” her is not happiness over Brently’s return, but rather the embrace of a freedom that she ultimately cannot have. Louise’s death, along with her loss of independence in the first place, signify that the life she dreamed of while alone in her room is off-limits, or inaccessible, to her.
