Kate Chopin's story is about a woman who is in an unhappy marriage with her husband. She learns of his death and instead of grieving, she feels excited and that she is now set "free".
I think Mrs.Mallard is either unconscious or in a coma due to her heart problem, and the story of her husband's death plays out while she is unconscious; like a dream. In the end, while in her unconscious state, Mr.Mallard arrives and sees his wife dead in a hospital bed.
Mrs. Mallard had looked at her husband's death as a way out of the marriage and hoped to live a long life where she could finally be happy. Its sad that she felt tied down just because she was married. And because it was so heavily frowned upon in those days, she couldn't and was afraid to get a divorce.
I guess the saying is true, "til death due us part". In Mrs.Mallard's case this was something good because she wanted to get out of the marriage without the shame of getting a divorce.
I kind of see where you coming from when you say that she is unconscious. At the same time i feel like the descriptive language used by Kate Chopin is enough for the reader to interpret their own conclusions with how the story goes.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Mallard and her husband were victims of society's view of marriage during the Victorian period. The male was considered dominant and the woman was to obey all his wishes. Louise seemed to be ahead of her time and wanted to feel free and independent. Like you said, divorce was frowned upon. She saw her husband's death as a way to achieve the freedom she so desired. Too bad it only lasted for an hour.
ReplyDeleteI too see where you are coming from when you say the story to Mrs. Mallard played out as a dream. Because when you think of it, it was almost her dream to be free of the burden of marriage... well that marriage anyway. And when it came down to the end, she was most definitely free of the burden. "Til' death do us part" was the right motto for this piece.
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