Entry #5: Free style

Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour(Kennedy, pg.326-327)
“Free! Body and soul free!” and “There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.”(Kennedy, pg. 327)

The emotions that this story invokes is almost comparable to a rollercoaster ride. I started with sympathy towards Mrs. Mallard because of her husbands death. After sympathy I was in the state of disbelief. In the middle of her mourning she found a sense of independence and this is where the quote I choose comes into play. It seems like the death of her husband brought upon a different perspective in regards to love and commitment. It’s sad to think that she realized that love was more of a burden after his death. I wondered if maybe this could be a coping mechanism? Maybe she has lost her sanity? If she is sane though, the duration of her mourning period was just too short to be considered as normal.

As though she has reached some sort of enlightenment, she dies in the end. I was still in disbelief when all of the sudden her life ended abruptly, in the same sporadic nature from depression to a sense of understanding. Overall, I admire the author’s ability to eloquently use words to bring out so many different reaction in the span of one short literary piece.