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As the brief nature of the story suggests, “The Story of an Hour” explores the sudden struggle that Louise Mallard faces as she reaches a major turning point in her life. The possibilities that exist in a world without her husband captivate her, but she also experiences guilt regarding the relief she feels after hearing of his death. The internal conflict that Louise faces, one which puts her desire for complete independence up against social norms and the institution of marriage, reflects the broader challenges that women of Chopin’s era faced as they sought to achieve more agency in a male-dominated world. Of course, Louise’s journey toward embracing her widowhood abruptly stops as her husband Brently walks in the front door. This shocking event, which ultimately kills her, prevents her from actualizing her dream of an independent life and suggests the incredibly high stakes of resisting patriarchal power structures.
Chopin symbolically references the central conflict of the story almost immediately as she begins by mentioning Mrs. Mallard’s “heart trouble.” While this affliction impacts the ways in which Josephine and Richard treat her, it also foreshadows the fact that Louise will ultimately face an internal, emotional struggle. Josephine considers her sister’s heart condition in the literal sense when she attempts to gently break the news of Mr. Mallard’s death, a moment which serves as the story’s inciting incident. The “half concealing” way in which Josephine reveals this information to Louise suggests a hesitation toward disrupting her sister’s identity as a committed wife, offering “veiled hints” in an attempt to downplay the significant implications of his death. Despite the minimal information that both Josephine and Richard provide her about her husband’s passing, Louise immediately understands that her life will change. The fact that she does not react “with a paralyzed inability to accept [death’s] significance” suggests that, subconsciously, she has already begun to adapt to her new situation.
The story’s rising action continues as Louise locks herself in her room alone, an act which reflects her new identity as a single woman. As she sits down, she feels a “physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” This detail further establishes the symbolic nature of her heart condition as it connects her physical pain to the emotional burden that she feels. The open window in her room and the “new spring life” that Louise sees outside contrasts with her depressed mood to create a tension which alludes to her emerging internal conflict. She quickly feels “something coming to her” from the vibrant world outside her window and, despite her fearful attempts to avoid that “something,” she finds herself whispering the word “free” over and over again. This moment serves as the beginning of her conscious struggle over her response to her husband’s death. The terror that comes over Louise after she acknowledges her freedom reflects the social pressure she feels to endlessly grieve for her loss, but the burst of energy she experiences suggests an eagerness to reject traditional gender roles and fully embrace her freedom.
Louise’s internal conflict continues to develop as she very clearly begins to see the true nature of her relationship and acknowledges her desire for self-fulfillment. She imagines living the rest of her life on her own terms, an opportunity which even the most loving of relationships would have made impossible to achieve. Self-love, Louise comes to realize, is far more powerful than the connection she felt to her husband. All of these epiphanies, along with the fact that Josephine calls her “Louise” rather than by her husband’s surname, seem to indicate that Louise has overcome her emotional struggle and joyfully accepted her newfound independence.
The story’s climax, however, reveals that freedom is not so easily achieved. When she finally opens the door to her room, she confidently steps out only to see her husband Brently walk in through the front door. In this moment, Louise’s internal conflict becomes externalized as she, representing the personal agency she dreamed of, comes face to face with the man whose love restricted her sense of self. This suspenseful moment allows Chopin to comment on just how many obstacles women face in the pursuit of self-actualization. At the moment when Louise’s path to freedom seems the clearest, the pressure to return to the confines of married life emerges seemingly out of nowhere.
The shock of seeing her husband alive, as well as the sudden loss of her independence, causes her to collapse and serves as the falling action of the story. Louise’s death, which doctors attribute to heart disease, calls back to the dual meaning of the “heart trouble” Chopin references in the story’s opening line. Losing the joy of freedom is ultimately the “joy that kills” her, and this notion emphasizes the impossibility of resolving Louise’s internal conflict.
