When hearing her husband’s death, Louise Mallard, who was afflicted with heart disease, was

inconsolable with grief. After being exhausted and in pain from her sobbing, some strange but new
feelings approached her. She was feared and afraid of this feeling at first, but gradually accepted it
and immersed in this unusual feeling. That was the joy of freedom brought by her husband’s death.
She was no longer passive, her heart beat fast, her rushing blood enlivened her, and she was
overjoyed at the idea of this freedom, although she and her husband enjoyed a stable, loving
marriage, even though she was suffering heart trouble. But all her fantasies, joy as well as her
weak heart were broken when her dead husband, Brently Mallard, appeared in front of her. She
finally died of heart disease- of joy that kills.
This story, tells the status of women in 19th-century society and their struggles for freedom
and independence. In the late 19th century, most Americans firmly held the perspective that women
were inferior to their husbands and other men and that they should rely on their husbands and
other male images. That is to say, the status of women is extremely low. In the story of an Hour,
Louise is characterized by heart trouble that she cannot be overjoyed. Because of the heart disease,
her body is weak, which further enforces the general sentiment that women should be passive and
not excited. Moreover, after learning about the death of her husband, she feels free from the
control of her husband. She might feel great joy that she could get his husband’s fortune to set
herself independent from the marriage. Therefore, although she is sad about her husband’s
accident, she feels intense joy at the exceedingly rare chance being granted to her as a woman.
That is the chance to be free. But finally, her husband comes back and her heart is broken because
intense joy shows that the whole of American society is resisting women's struggle for freedom,
power, and independence.
In this story, there are several conflicts and they can be divided into internal and external
conflicts. The first internal conflict is between Louise and her husband. When first hearing about
the death of Brently Mallard, Louise was extremely sad and painful. This can be seen as a normal
reaction because they are in loved couples. But the conflict gradually comes out that Louise’s pain
and sorrow are replaced by the joy of the feeling of freedom. Therefore, the sorrow of death and
the joy of freedom is one huge internal conflict throughout the story. The first external conflict is
between the social expectations and Louise’s expectations. Under the background of the current
society, Louise is required to be a duteous wife or woman to love her husband and work for him.
But Louise herself realizes that there is a chance that she can live only for herself, not for her
husband. She feels intense joy after the death of her husband because she desires the liberation and
freedom of individuals from her heart. But her expectations are broken by the return of her
husband. Therefore, the expectations from a female to be free as well as independent and the
expectations from traditional marriage values restrict women to being tame and weak is the first
huge external conflict in this story. The second external is between Louise and her family
members. Her sister and her sister’s husband are cautious about telling Louise the death of her
husband. Because they know that Louise has a heart problem. They worry that Louise is unable to
accept the death of her husband. They are afraid that Louise might be too sad to suffer a disease
and become ill. However, Louise is a strong woman with great inner strength to accept the death
of her husband and regards it as a chance to be free and independent. Therefore, her sister
Josephine and her sister’s husband Richards’s underestimating of Louise, their excessive care and
protection of Louise, and Louise's strength and expectation to be free and independent is another
external conflict in this story.
 After reading this short story, lots of people might consider Lousie as a cruel and selfish
character for her heartless wish and joy to become free and independent after the death of her
husband. However, from my point of view, Lousie is a character who deserves sympathy. After
hearing about the death of her husband, she was sad at first but realized the chance to be free and
independent later. The change in her attitude shows her strong willingness and desire to get rid of
the repression under the traditional marriage system. In the current American society, women’s
status is extremely low, and almost have no rights, let alone the revolts of women. And in the
Declaration of Independence, it stipulates that liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness are
inherent human rights. And from the values of our modern society, all humans are born to be
equal.
Therefore, we can regard Louise’s rebelling, selfishness, and cruelty as the early awakening
of the female. Louise’s courage and spirit to struggle for freedom and independence should be
respected and sympathized.
boisterously
accost v.搭讪
mortifying a.令人尴尬的
animated a.活跃的
cheery
gleefully
inimitable
sterling
extraordinary
singular
abatement
molest
relapse
frantic
acclamation
sublime
vindicate
enact
infatuation
indubitably
vociferously
disdained
disdain
jubilant
subdued
prominent
serene
evinced
apathy
deficiency
felicitous
endowment
acquiescent
despite
blithely
rickety
transfixed
peevishness
splenetic
capitulated
homage
remorseless
sympathetic
shattered