Mid-term writing test

1-What is Louise Mallard’s opinion of marriage? Indicate the paragraph that suggests it?


She thinks that marriage is just a way to impose your private will on someone else. (paragraphe number twelve)







2-Why does Louise Mallard suddenly stop crying? Indicate the place in the text?



She stops crying because she suddenly realize that she'll be free; she will now start to live for herself instead of others. (paragraphe number 12)





3-How does she feel about her future as a widow? Cite the line in the text, using just the first few words, then a series of dots …?



"There would be no one to live for during those coming years..."

"Free! Body and soul free!"





7-Explain how Louise can feel joy and sadness at the same time?



She's sad because she just learned that her husband died in a train accident but she's also happy because she's going to enjoy all the little things of life on her own. She feels joy because she's now a free person.

Irony of "The story of an hour"

You might think that a story about a wife who loses her husband is sad but not in every cases. In “The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin, the use of irony in the text just gives the story a funny way of looking at death. Louise, the main character, is a young woman with a heart disease who just learned that her husband died in a train accident. She’s sad at the beginning but she then realize that she’s free of everything. What sound a little ironic to me are the descriptions of what Louise was looking at when she was sitting in her chair: “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.” The woman is sad and instead of seeing sad things, life goes on around her. It introduces very well how the main character changes her mind after a few minutes. She stops thinking about her husband and she thinks about her.

Another part in the story were I think the author is ironic is when she describes Louise’s perception of marriage which is really close to the definition of Ambrose Bierce in The Devil’s dictionary: “The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two.” Louise’s opinion of marriage is quite the same when she realizes that: “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature.” All of a sudden she starts thinking about living her life on her own. She entered her room alone and sad but she came out of it with “a feverish triumph in her eyes”.

Finally, the way Louise’s sister and Richards are treating her is pretty ironic too considering that if Richard didn’t told Louise her husband had died, she wouldn’t have died neither. It’s also interesting that the author specified “he had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram…” And then, surprise! The husband appears like a “Jack-In-The-Box” at the end of the story. The reactions of all the characters at the end are funny as well. The husband just opened the door like if nothing had happens, without knowing anything about what was going on. Richards gets in Louise’s view to hide her husband behind is back even though it didn’t work very well. Josephine screamed and the wife died of a heart disease.

437 words