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This is a story about Ms. Mallard, a young woman trapped in a loveless marriage. She
is told through a telegraph that her husband has been killed in a train accident and she
is comforted by family and friends at home.
Crying, she returns to her room, but soon feels a sense of freedom and joy. In fact,
she is happy and begins to imagine all of the things she can now do.
Her sister brings her downstairs, upon which the front door opens. Her husband walks in.
He is alive and well. Ms. Mallard dies instantly.
The magic of this short story is what isn't written down in the story and all that must
be assumed by the reader. There are hints of certain elements of what life must have
been like for Ms. Mallard, but none are definitive. We can assume that the marriage was for something
other than love, like money or power. Perhaps there was a big age gap between them, or he
worked so much that they hardly spent any time together.
When she enters her bedroom and looks outside, the death of her husband and the signs of
life that she sees are great contrasts. Life seems more pleasant, or at least she begins
to notice life around her.
Before the appearance of her husband at the end of the story, Richards, a friend of the
husband, tries to shield himself in front of Ms. Mallard. Why he would do this is not
stated, but he must have known how she would react. Perhaps they were having an affair?
That is unclear. But what is clear is that Ms. Mallard felt trapped and for a moment,
felt freedom.
From "The Story of an Hour" it's not about word count, but making each word count.