Midterm Writing Test

103A Midterm Writing Test

Part A

1. What is Louise Mallard's opinion of marriage?
   
   Louise Mallard views marriage as being a constrictive bind: a union where she is to live for someone else, subjected to their will. Her opinion is clearly stated in the thirteenth paragraph, where she says, ''A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination,'' thus comparing the act of forcing your own will upon someone else (in this case your spouse) to a criminal act.
   
   
2. How does she feel about her future as a widow?
   
   Louise Mallard feels that her future as a widow will be one where she is free to live for herself, to do what she fancies and most importantly, one where she does not need to obey the will and demands of somebody other than herself. Her feelings are clearly revealed in the story: ''Spring days, and summer days...''
   
   
3. How does Louise's sister and her friend, Richards, feel about the Mallard's marriage?
   
   Josephine (Louise's sister) and Richards are under the impression that the Mallard's marriage is a happy one, where both husband and wife love and care for each other. They think that if Louise hears about her husband's death too abruptly, she will be so crushed by the news that her heart will fail. When Louise dies, they are certain that it is because joy overcame her when she saw her husband was still alive.
   
   
4. Explain how Louise can feel joy and sadness at the same time.
   
   In the short story, Louise feels joy and sadness at the same time. On one hand, the death of her husband, her companion has just been announced to her; therefore, even though she didn't always love him, she is sad at the idea of never seeing the man with whom she spent her life. On the other hand, freedom in the form of a life all to herself has been handed to her; thus she feels immense joy at the idea of doing what she pleases for the remainder of her life.

Part B

Death has always been interpreted in many ways : as a deliverance, as a curse, as a path to eternal life. If we take a closer look at the idea of deliverance, it is usually viewed as freedom for the deceased, not the people left behind; nonetheless, this is the case in Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour. It is therefore very ironic in it’s depiction of marriage, death and our views of others, an element of the story I will demonstrate in the following text.

First of all, irony is used to establish the message of the story, which is that not everything, not everybody are what they seem. Indeed, throughout the story, friends and family of the supposedly newly widowed Louise Mallard believe that the news of her husband’s death will kill her, when in fact, the idea of spending her life alone overjoices her. When it is revealed that her husband is still alive, Louise Mallard dies of heart failure, her friends now believing that she has died of happiness. This is clearly stated in the last sentence of the story : ''When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills.'' This message, and the author’s opinion on how we judge people, is revealed to the reader in an ironic fashion; her friends, incorrectly assuming that she loves her husband, try to shield her from the news of his death but fail to realize that it is the news of his being alive they should have shielded her from, thus proving that they don't know their friend as well as they think they do.

Second of all, the author’s depiction of death and being a widow is very ironic. Usually, death is considered a portal to freedom for the one leaving this world but in this story, the one receiving freedom is the widow. Instead of falling into depression and torment, Louise Mallard proclaims, ''Free! Body and soul free!'', an exclamation of profound joy very contrary to what is expected; therefore, it is a clear indication of irony. Furthermore, as previously stated, instead of dying out of sadness at the loss of her husband, Mrs. Mallard dies out of sadness at the loss of her newly-found freedom when her husband is found to be alive and in good health. Yet again, this is an opposite reaction to what is normally expected from a widow. Hence, in her story, Kate Chopin portrays death and it’s implications on others in a very unpredictable, very ironic manner.