�The Story Of An Hour�: Louise Mallard As A Sympathetic Figure
Kate Chopin�s, �The Story of an Hour� is about a woman who is devastated when she first hears of her husband�s death, but shortly thereafter is filled with happiness. Many readers may think of the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, as a cold, unfeeling woman. However, on closer examination one can see just how much of a sympathetic figure she is.
At first glance it is easy to understand how some might view Mrs. Mallard as an unsympathetic character. After all she did not always love her husband that is stated by Chopin, �And yet she had loved himsometimes. Often she had not.� Also only minutes after hearing about his death she is happy and looking forward to life which is ...
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reason why she should not be considered a sympathetic figure. But in fact those are the few signs that indicate Mrs. Mallard is completely without compassion. However, there is much more evidence in the story to suggest Mrs. Mallard should be viewed as a favorable character. The author states that after Mrs. Mallard was told of her husband�s death, �She wept at once, with a sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister�s arms.� From this statement, we can surmise Mrs. Mallard had some tender feelings for her husband. It is while sitting in her room, looking out the window at the normalcy of life, that Mrs. Mallard gets an unwanted revelation. Chopin writes, �There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will.� Upon reading this passage, many readers realize Mrs. Mallard is fighting the happiness that is trying to overtake her ...
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�The Story Of An Hour�: Louise Mallard As A Sympathetic Figure. (2005, March 26). Retrieved April 27, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Story-Hour-Louise-Mallard-Sympathetic-Figure/24345
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"�The Story Of An Hour�: Louise Mallard As A Sympathetic Figure." Essayworld.com. March 26, 2005. Accessed April 27, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Story-Hour-Louise-Mallard-Sympathetic-Figure/24345.
"�The Story Of An Hour�: Louise Mallard As A Sympathetic Figure." Essayworld.com. March 26, 2005. Accessed April 27, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Story-Hour-Louise-Mallard-Sympathetic-Figure/24345.
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