"The Story of an Hour" by:Kate Chopin

What clues in the story indicate that "The Story of an hour" is set in the late 1800's?

Back in the late 1800's, when this story was written, women were quite often mistreated and had to live restricted lives that lacked opportunity.

What kind of relationships do the Mallards have? Is Brently Mallard unkind Louise Mallard, or is there some other reason for her saying "free, free, free!" when she hears of his death? how does she feel about him? Look to your story for clues and evidence to justify your response.

Brently has only looked at Louise with love. Still, she says she is free because of his death. The reason behind such feeling is that Mrs. Mallard has been a subservient wife all of her life.

Not until Paragraph 16 does the reader learn the protagonist's(Mrs. Mallard's) first name, Louise. why does the narrator delay in providing the reader with Mrs. Mallard's first name?

It is not until then that she begins to establish her own identity. She has only been a wife until that point.

In what ways is this passage significant? "She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was signing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the cave."

It's referring to how she felt sad then happy that she is free from her husband. Who did not allow her to work, to vote, and able to speak for herself.

What is the significance of the title?

Louise Mallard hear that her husband is dead, and when she discovers that he is alive after all.

Why do you think the author mentions in the first paragraph that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with "heart trouble"?

Mrs Mallard's heart trouble is both symbolic and ironic. However, it is ironic that she can receive the news of her husband's death but his return becomes too painful for her to bear. Whatever be the real scenario, the author mentions this trouble right in the first paragraph. This adds to the sarcasm in the story.

Is Mrs. Mallard a round or flat character? Is she static or dynamic? How do you know?

Mrs. Mallard is a dynamic character. She is dynamic character because she went from being sad in the beginning to being happy and overjoyed in the middle and end.

Mrs. Mallard is described as descending the stairs " like a goddess of Victory." In what ways does she feel herself victorious?

She feels like she got something out of losing her husband and now she's happy and feels like she can do anything because she's free of him.

In the first full paragraph on the second page of the story, Mrs. Mallard considers if she did pr did not feel a "monstrous joy". The phrase "monstrous joy" is an oxymoron--- two unlike terms which are paired together. Why do you feel the narrator uses the phrase "monstrous joy"? Justify your response with evidence from the story.

The author uses "monstrous joy" to inform how much joy it was for Mrs Mallard when she felt free.

The last line of the story is this: " When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of joy that kills."in what ways is this an ironic statement? What kind of irony is it?

The last line is dramatic irony. The characters including the doctor think that Mrs. Mallard was so overcome with happiness or joy that she died when she saw her husband who she thought was dead suddenly alive.

The setting of the story is very limited; it is confined largely to a room, a staircase, and a front door. How does this limitation help to express the themes or big ideas of the story? In other words, why is the setting so limited?

The limitation of the physical settings reflects the limitations imposed upon her. It reflects the limited life she lives and which she feels relieved from upon receiving the news of her husband's death.

Mrs. Mallard of the open window closes the door to her room so that her sister Josephine cannot get in, yet she leaves the window open. Why does Chopin make a point of telling the reader this? Consider the significance.

The wind from outside makes her feel free but being trapped in a room alone because people wont let her be makes her feel imprisoned.

What are conflicts in "The Story of an Hour"? Label the conflicts as external or internal?

is with a society that expects herself to define herself through her husband and bend herself to his will and to be grieved when she hears a report of his death. More profoundly, she realizes that a wife can also bend a husband to her will.