The Story of an Hour Study Guide

What is the name of Louise's sister?

Josephine

Who is the author of the story?

Kate Chopin

Who is the main character of the story?

Louise Mallard

What does Josephine believe that Louise is doing behind her closed door?

Making herself ill

The climax of the story is...

Mr. Mallard walking through the door.

How is the resolution an example of irony (when the unexpected occurs)?

Mrs. Mallard dies of a broken heart because her husband is actually alive. She should be happy that he is alive but instead she was saddened and shocked that her life would be hopeless once again.

What season does this story take place in and why is it important?

Spring. The season represents "new life" which is what Louise is experiencing at the moment.

The narrator of "The Story of an Hour" depicts Louise's thoughts in the room as being

Suddenly clear

What do the characters believe about Mr. Mallard?

That he was killed in a train accident.

What is the central idea of "The Story of An Hour"?

The main idea is about a malcontent woman that dies of a heart attack when she learns that her husband survived a railroad crash.

Readers in Kate Chopin's time must have found "The Story of an Hour" particularly shocking because of the contract between Mrs. Mallard's response to her husband's death and

The response that society would consider appropriate.

In "The Story of an Hour", what does Louise stare at while locked in her room?

The sky

What is significant about the story's setting?

The story's set in a time period that afforded women very few rights.

When Mrs. Mallard looks out of the window, what does the window symbolize (represent)?

Through the window she sees the freedom that she longs to have so it represents her independence.

"It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. " Here, Shudder means..

To tremble in sadness.

Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is a powerful illustration of the:

Tragedy of thwarted love.

Name an example in the story when Chopin executes situational irony.

When Louise gets her freedom, she dies anyway.

" except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her" Sob means:

a cry

The story is written in ______ person narration.

third

What is her conflict?

Her husband supposedly died and she is ambivalent of her emotions; she should be sad but feels content that he is dead because she can be free and independent.

What might Mrs. Mallard's ailment symbolize?

Her unhappiness and troubling emotions.

What is the tone of the story?

Ironic/Depressing

What literary device is used at the end of the story when the doctor claims Mrs. Mallard "died of heart disease- of the joy that kills"?

Irony

In "The Story of an Hour," the thing that Mrs. Mallard feels approaching her is described as "creeping" and as something that will "possess her," Why are these words ironic?

It is her freedom she feels coming.

What feeling does Mrs. Mallard realize she values most?

self-assertion

How did Richards hear about the railroad disaster?

He heard about it at the newspaper office

How could we best characterize Brently Mallard?

He's a typical husband in the late 19th-century.

What is the explanation for Louise's husband's death?

He died in a railroad accident.

When was The Story of an Hour first published?

1894

The year women received the vote:

1920

The _____ Amendment gave women the right to vote.

19th

The author wrote the story in the ______ century.

19th

Why does Chopin choose to withhold telling the reader Mrs. Mallard's first name?

Because Mrs. Marllard was denied her own identify for so long.

What is the theme or the message of the story?

Do something about your unhappiness before it is too late; Don't let anyone control or define you.

Under which type of irony would you classify Josephine's fear that her sister will "make herself ill" by grieving alone in her room?

Dramatic

In "The Story of an Hour," whom does Mrs. Mallard believe she will live for when she thinks her husband has been killed?

For herself

When Mrs. Mallard says "free, free, free" in "The Story of an Hour," what becomes clear?

Mrs. Mallard is happy to be free of her husband.

Why does Mrs. Mallard refuse her sister Josephine's offer to keep her company?

Mrs. Mallard needs privacy to confront her true feelings

Who is the protagonist or main character? How would you characterize her?

Mrs. Mallard; malcontent; entrapped; hopeful

What happened to Mr. Mallard, according to the story?

Nothing happened to him.

Name an example in the story when Chopin executes verbal irony.

Reacting to news of a spouse's death with relief, nevermind "monstrous joy" is an "inappropriate" response, for sure. She keeps these thoughts in her head (whispering her chant), with the door closed.

What is the best choice for theme of the story?

Relationships can be oppressive

Who breaks the news of Mr. Mallard's death?

Richards

What happens when Louise sees Brently?

She dies

What happens to Mrs. Mallard at the end of the story?

She dies of a heart attack.

How does this heart trouble affect her at the resolution of the story?

She dies of heart disease specifically of a broken-heart.

Why does she feel malcontent in her marriage?

She feels entrapped and unloved.

Mrs. Mallard's reflection that she had recently wished for a short life soon has additional irony for the reader because

She gets what she wanted after she stopped wanting it.

Why is Louise's family concerned about her?

She has heart trouble

What ailment (illness) is Mrs. Mallard afflicted with?

She has heart trouble.

Why does the protagonist die of a broken heart?

She was shocked to learn that her husband was alive and this meant that the freedom and independence she foresaw would never occur.

What does Louise do when he hears that her husband's name is on the list of "killed?"

She weeps and goes to her room.

Identify the figurative language: "She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep."

Simile

When Mrs. Mallard whispers, "free, free, free," after hearing of her husband's death, it is an example of:

Situational irony

The fact that Louise had a heart condition ________ her death from a heart attack.

foreshadows

In "The Story of an Hour", Louise reacts to the news of her husband's death first with _________, then with __________.

grief, exultation