The Joy that Kills Victoria Gudbranson College

Historically, during the late nineteenth century, there was a high importance set on women to fulfill their roles of motherhood and housewife. Society set ideals into place where a woman had to provide her husband with a “happy home,” so that her husband had a place to rest after doing his noblest duties of fatherhood and manhood. In “The Story of an Hour,” Louise clearly shows that this lifestyle is not for her. Her self-centeredness shows that she is looking forward to experiencing the zest that life has to offer her. She is, however, conflicted with herself at the same time and struggles to identify if she has feelings for her husband. Due to Louise’s disbelief of her husband’s death, she ends up being her own demise because of the internal issues she struggles with, the cultural norms she has to live by, and the overwhelming toll on her heart when she saw her husband.

When the news of Mr. Mallard’s death came back to Louise, she was in disbelief. She had trouble identifying how to feel, at first, until reality sank in. Her abnormal response to receiving the news of her husband’s death and the lack of emotions suggests she struggled with the news. At one point in the story, the narrator exclaims, “Free! Body and soul free!”...