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Context

Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1850, one of five children but the only one to live throuh her

twenties. !er father, "ho#as $%&laherty, died when she was five, and she spent her childhood a#on wo#en'

her #other, (li)a* rand#other* reat+rand#other* and the nuns who ran her school. n 18-0, Chopin #arried

$scar Chopin and #oved with hi# to ew $rleans, where they had si/ children.

Chopin was an independent spirit who s#oed ciarettes, waled alone throuh the city, and arued

 passionately with others about politics and social proble#s, #uch to the dis#ay of the other ew $rleans

housewives in her social circle. ot lon after the fa#ily #oved to Cloutierville, Louisiana, $scar diedune/pectedly. Chopin #ourned his death deeply but eventually e#braced her independence, even oin so far

as to havin an affair with a #arried #an. Chopin soon returned to St. Louis, where she would spend the rest of 

her life.

Chopin bean writin fiction in 188. She wrote about life and people in Louisiana and focused her attention on

love, se/, #arriae, wo#en, and independence. She published her first novel, At Fault , in 180, when she was

forty. "he novel was well received, and she went on to publish short stories and essays addressin si#ilar

topics. She published two collections of short stories, Bayou Folk 21834 and A Night in Arcadie 218-4, and

 beca#e nown as a writer with a een eye for local culture. "he Story of an !our6 was published in 183 and,

alon with "he Stor#6 21884, is a#on Chopin%s #ost fa#ous stories. 7lthouh Chopin%s fe#ale

 protaonists act in unconventional, even scandalous, ways, readers accepted this as si#ply part of thestorytellin and didn%t suspect Chopin of #orali)in or tryin to insert her personal opinions into her wor.

n 18, Chopin published her second novel, The Awakening . "he novel, which chronicles a #arried wo#an%s

adulterous affair, shoced readers. Chopin had allowed her support of wo#en%s independence and se/ual

freedo# to shine throuh, which proved to be unacceptable. "he publication of this novel #ared the beinnin

of the end of Chopin%s writin career, and the novel soon fell out of print, re#ainin undiscovered until the

150s.

"oday, Chopin is nown for addressin fe#inist issues #any years before the fe#inist #ove#ent beca#e a

#aor social and political force in 7#erica. 9hen Chopin was writin, the fe#inist #ove#ent had barely

 beun, and in Louisiana, wo#en were still considered to be their husbands% lawful property. 7s a result,

Chopin%s bra)en, sensual, independent protaonists were years ahead of their ti#e. "he Story of an !our6reflects Chopin%s view of the repressive role that #arriae played in wo#en%s lives as the protaonist, Louise

Mallard, feels i##ense freedo# only when her husband has died. 9hile he is alive, she #ust live for hi#, and

only when he dies does her life once aain beco#e her own.

Chopin died of a brain he#orrhae in 103. She was fifty+two.

Plot Overview

Louise Mallard has heart trouble, so she #ust be infor#ed carefully about her husband%s death. !er sister,

:osephine, tells her the news. Louise%s husband%s friend, ;ichards, learned about a railroad disaster when he

was in the newspaper office and saw Louise%s husband, <rently, on the list of those illed. Louise beins

sobbin when :osephine tells her of <rently%s death and oes upstairs to be alone in her roo#.

Louise sits down and loos out an open window. She sees trees, s#ells approachin rain, and hears a peddler

yellin out what he%s sellin. She hears so#eone sinin as well as the sounds of sparrows, and there are fluffy

white clouds in the sy. She is youn, with lines around her eyes. Still cryin, she a)es into the distance. She

feels apprehensive and tries to suppress the buildin e#otions within her, but can%t. She beins repeatin the

word &ree= to herself over and over aain. !er heart beats >uicly, and she feels very war#.

Louise nows she%ll cry aain when she sees <rently%s corpse. !is hands were tender, and he always looed at

her lovinly. <ut then she i#aines the years ahead, which belon only to her now, and spreads her ar#s out

 oyfully with anticipation. She will be free, on her own without anyone to oppress her. She thins that all

wo#en and #en oppress one another even if they do it out of indness. Louise nows that she often felt love

for <rently but tells herself that none of that #atters any#ore. She feels ecstatic with her newfound sense ofindependence.

:osephine co#es to her door, bein Louise to co#e out, warnin her that she%ll et sic if she doesn%t. Louise

tells her to o away. She fantasi)es about all the days and years ahead and hopes that she lives a lon life. "hen

she opens the door, and she and :osephine start walin down the stairs, where ;ichards is waitin.

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"he front door une/pectedly opens, and <rently co#es in. !e hadn%t been in the train accident or even aware

that one had happened. :osephine screa#s, and ;ichards tries unsuccessfully to bloc Louise fro# seein hi#.

?octors arrive and pronounce that Louise died of a heart attac brouht on by happiness.

Character List

Louise Mallard + 7 wo#an whose husband is reportedly illed in a train accident. 9hen Louise hears

the news, she is secretly happy because she is now free. She is filled with a new lust for life, and

althouh she usually loved her husband, she cherishes her newfound independence even #ore. She has

a heart attac when her husband, alive after all, co#es ho#e.

;ead an in+depth analysis of Louise Mallard.

Brently Mallard + Louise%s husband, supposedly illed in a train accident. 7lthouh Louise

re#e#bers <rently as a ind and lovin #an, #erely bein #arried to hi# also #ade hi# an

oppressive factor in her life. <rently arrives ho#e unaware that there had been a train accident.

Josephine + Louise%s sister. :osephine infor#s Louise about <rently%s death.

Richards + <rently%s friend. ;ichards learns about the train accident and <rently%s death at thenewspaper office, and he is there when :osephine tells the news to Louise.

Analysis of Major Characters

Louise Mallard

7n intellient, independent wo#an, Louise Mallard understands the riht6 way for wo#en to behave,

 but her internal thouhts and feelins are anythin but correct. 9hen her sister announces that <rently

has died, Louise cries dra#atically rather than feelin nu#b, as she nows #any other wo#en would.

!er violent reaction i##ediately shows that she is an e#otional, de#onstrative wo#an. She nows

that she should rieve for <rently and fear for her own future, but instead she feels elation at her

newfound independence. Louise is not cruel and nows that she%ll cry over <rently%s dead body when

the ti#e co#es. <ut when she is out of others% siht, her private thouhts are of her own life and the

opportunities that await her, which she feels have ust brihtened considerably.Louise suffers fro# a heart proble#, which indicates the e/tent to which she feels that #arriae has

oppressed her. "he vaue label Chopin ives to Louise%s proble#@heart trouble6@suests that this

trouble is both physical and e#otional, a proble# both within her body and with her relationship to

<rently. n the hour durin which Louise believes <rently is dead, her heart beats stronly@indeed,Louise feels her new independence physically. 7lone in her roo#, her heart races, and her whole body

feels war#. She spreads her ar#s open, sy#bolically welco#in her new life. <ody and soul free=6

she repeats to herself, a state#ent that shows how total her new independence really is for her. $nly

when <rently wals in does her heart trouble6 reappear, and this trouble is so acute that it ills her.

"he irony of the endin is that Louise doesn%t die of oy as the doctors clai# but actually fro#

the loss of oy. <rently%s death ave her a li#pse of a new life, and when that new life is swiftly taenaway, the shoc and disappoint#ent ill her.

Thees! Motifs! and "y#ols

"he#es

"he &orbidden :oy of ndependence

n "he Story of an !our,6 independence is a forbidden pleasure that can be i#ained only privately.

9hen Louise hears fro# :osephine and ;ichards of <rently%s death, she reacts with obvious rief, and

althouh her reaction is perhaps #ore violent than other wo#en%s, it is an appropriate one. 7lone,

however, Louise beins to reali)e that she is now an independent wo#an, a reali)ation that enlivens

and e/cites her. (ven thouh these are her private thouhts, she at first tries to s>uelch the oy she

feels, to beat it bac with her will.6 Such resistance reveals how forbidden this pleasure really is.

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9hen she finally does acnowlede the oy, she feels possessed by it and #ust abandon herself to it as

the word free escapes her lips. Louise%s life offers no refue for this ind of oy, and the rest of society

will never accept it or understand it. (/tre#e circu#stances have iven Louise a taste of this forbidden

fruit, and her thouhts are, in turn, e/tre#e. She sees her life as bein absolutely hers and her new

independence as the core of her bein. $verwhel#ed, Louise even turns to prayer, hopin for a lon

life in which to enoy this feelin. 9hen <rently returns, he unwittinly yans Louise%s independence

away fro# her, puttin it once aain out of her reach. "he forbidden oy disappears as >uicly as it

ca#e, but the taste of it is enouh to ill her.

"he nherent $ppressiveness of Marriae

Chopin suests that all #arriaes, even the indest ones, are inherently oppressive. Louise, who

readily ad#its that her husband was ind and lovin, nonetheless feels oy when she believes that he

has died. !er reaction doesn%t suest any #alice, and Louise nows that she%ll cry at <rently%s

funeral. !owever, despite the love between husband and wife, Louise views <rently%s death as a

release fro# oppression. She never na#es a specific way in which <rently oppressed her, hintin

instead that #arriae in eneral stifles both wo#en and #en. She even see#s to suest that she

oppressed <rently ust as #uch as he oppressed her. Louise%s epiphany in which these thouhts parade

throuh her #ind reveals the inherent oppressiveness of all #arriaes, which by their nature rob people

of their independence.

Motifs

9eepin

Louise%s weepin about <rently%s death hihliht the dichoto#y between sorrow and happiness. Louise

cries or thins about cryin for about three+>uarters of "he Story of an !our,6 stoppin only when she

thins of her new freedo#. Cryin is part of her life with <rently, but it will presu#ably be absent

fro# her life as an independent wo#an. 7t the beinnin of the story, Louise sobs dra#atically whenshe learns that <rently is dead, endurin a stor# of rief.6 She continues weepin when she is alone

in her roo#, althouh the cryin now is unconscious, #ore a physical refle/ than anythin spurred by

e#otion. She i#aines herself cryin over <rently%s dead body. $nce the funeral is over in her 

fantasies, however, there is no further #ention of cryin because she%s consu#ed with happiness.

Sy#bols

!eart "rouble

"he heart trouble that afflicts Louise is both a physical and sy#bolic #alady that represents her a#bivalence toward her #arriae and unhappiness with her lac of freedo#. "he fact that Louise has

heart trouble is the first thin we learn about her, and this heart trouble is what see#s to #ae the

announce#ent of <rently%s death so threatenin. 7 person with a wea heart, after all, would not deal

well with such news. 9hen Louise reflects on her new independence, her heart races, pu#pin blood

throuh her veins. 9hen she dies at the end of the story, the dianosis of heart disease6 see#s

appropriate because the shoc of seein <rently was surely enouh to ill her. <ut the doctors%

conclusion that she%d died of overwhel#in oy is ironic because it had been the loss of oy that had

actually illed her. ndeed, Louise see#s to have died of a broen heart, caused by the sudden loss of 

her #uch+loved independence.

"he $pen 9indow

"he open window fro# which Louise a)es for #uch of the story represents the freedo# and

opportunities that await her after her husband has died. &ro# the window, Louise sees blue sy, fluffy

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clouds, and treetops. She hears people and birds sinin and s#ells a co#in rainstor#. (verythin

that she e/periences throuh her senses suests oy and sprin@new life. 7nd when she ponders the

sy, she feels the first hints of elation. $nce she fully indules in this e/cite#ent, she feels that the

open window is providin her with life itself. "he open window provides a clear, briht view into the

distance and Louise%s own briht future, which is now unobstructed by the de#ands of another person.

t%s therefore no coincidence that when Louise turns fro# the window and the view, she >uicly loses

her freedo# as well.

"tructure and "tyle

n "he Story of an !our,6 Chopin e#ploys specific structural and stylistic techni>ues to heihten the

dra#a of the hour. "he structure Chopin has chosen for "he Story of an !our6 fits the subect #atter

 perfectly. "he story is short, #ade up of a series of short pararaphs, #any of which consist of ust two

or three sentences. Liewise, the story covers only one hour in Louise Mallard%s life@fro# the

#o#ent she learns of her husband%s death to the #o#ent he une/pectedly returns alive. "he short,

dense structure #irrors the intense hour Louise spends conte#platin her new independence. :ust as

Louise is co#pletely i##ersed in her wild thouhts of the #o#ent, we are i##ersed alon with her in

this brief period of ti#e. "his story can be read >uicly, but the i#pact it #aes is powerful. Chopin

surprises us first with Louise%s elated reaction when she first #ur#urs free6 to herself. She shocs usaain at the conclusion when she dies upon <rently%s return. "he heart disease6 #entioned at the end

of the story echoes the heart trouble6 discussed at the beinnin, intensifyin the twist endin and

 brinin the story to a satisfyin close.

<ecause such a short story leaves no roo# for bacround infor#ation, flashbacs, or e/cessive

speculation, Chopin succeeds in #ain every sentence i#portant by e#ployin an al#ost poetic

writin style. She uses repetition to hihliht i#portant points, such as when she repeats the

word open throuhout the story to e#phasi)e the freedo# of Louise%s new life. She has Louise repeat

the word freeover and over aain as well, which is one of the few words Louise actually speas aloud

in the story and indicates how #uch she cherishes her newfound freedo#. <esides repeatin words,

Chopin also repeats phrases and sentence structures to hihliht i#portant points. &or e/a#ple, Chopinwrites, She breathed a >uic prayer that life #iht be lon. t was only yesterday that she had thouht

with a shudder that life #iht be lon.6 "he identical phrasin of the second half of each sentence

reveals how drastically Louise%s life has chaned@she once shuddered at the thouht of a lon life, but

now she prays for it. &inally, Chopin #aes the prose of the story beautiful by usin alliteration and

internal rhy#es. &or e/a#ple, :osephine revealed in half concealin6 when she tells Louise the news,

and <rently reappears co#posedly carryin6 his belonins. 7ll of Chopin%s stylistic and structural

techni>ues co#bine to #ae this very short story powerful.

$portant %uotations &xplained

1. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. t wasnot a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.

"his >uotation appears after Louise has one alone to her roo# to deal with the news of <rently%s

death. 7fter an initial fit of tears, Louise loos out her window at the wide+open spaces below. "his

>uotation is our first hint that Louise%s reaction to <rently%s death will be surprisin and that Louise is

very different fro# other wo#en. 9hereas #ost wo#en would a)e reflectively at the sy and clouds,

Louise%s a)e suests so#ethin different, so#ethin shrewder or #ore active. 9hat she sees as she

a)es out the window is different fro# what other wo#en would liely see after their husbands have

died. ot lon after this passae, Louise acnowledes the oyous feelin of independence that

<rently%s death has iven her. !ere, at the window, the first breaths of these feelins are stirrin, and

her intellient thouht6 will >uicly enae once aain as she processes these feelins and allowsherself to analy)e what they #ean.

!. "he breathed a #uick prayer that life $ight be long. t was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life $ight belong.

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"his >uotation appears close to the end of the story, ust before Louise leaves her bedroo# to o bac

downstairs, and illu#inates the e/tent of Louise%s elation. <efore <rently%s death, Louise viewed her

life with trepidation, envisionin years of dull, unchanin dependence and oppression. "he shudder6

she felt was one of dread. ow, however, she is free and independent, and her life is suddenly worth

livin. 9hereas she once hoped life would be short, she now prays for a lon, happy life. "his passae,

 besides showin us how fully Louise feels her independence, also hihlihts the une/pectedness of

Louise%s reaction. ;ather than dread a life lived alone, this solitude is, for Louise, reason enouh to

anticipate the future eaerly. 9hen <rently returns, she dies, unable to face the return of the life that

she%d dreaded so #uch.

Introduction

"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin is a short story which was first published in Vogue magazine in 18! #lthough first titled "The

$ream of an Hour"% the first reprinting in 18& changed the title to what we 'now today (elow we)ll discuss se*eral important symbols

and e+amples of irony in this story

,f you ha*en)t read the story yet - swing on o*er to KateChopin.org and read the whole story online

Analysis: Symbols

 The frst section o our analysis deals with symbols:

• Heart Troubles - The heart is traditionally a symbol o an individual's emotional core. The frst

sentence o "The tory o an !our" inorms us that rs. allard has heart troubles. !er physical heart problems

symboli#e her emotional heart problems as it relates to marriage.

• The Heart (part 2) - The heart o any society is the amily and a marriage between a man and a

woman is the essential oundation o the amily. rs. allard's heart troubles may represent the peril in which the

late $%th century institution o marriage fnds itsel on account o the ine&ualities therein.

• Mrs. Mallard - Keeping in mind the above eamples o an ailing heart( rs. allard could be said to

represent women o her time period who were unable to fnd happiness in marriage and motherhood( not because

it's not ound there( but because their reedoms within marriage are restricted.

•

• Spring Time - )n her room( rs( allard "could see in the open s&uare beore her house the tops o

trees that were all a&uiver with the new spring lie." !er heart( too( is all a&uiver with a new lie and a new hope.

• Patches of lue S!y - There were also "patches o blue s*y showing here and there through the

clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west acing her window." +ight was brea*ing through

what previously had been cover. )t's no accident that this light appears in the west( the end o the day. ,reviously(

rs. allard longed or her lie to end( thin*ing there would be nothing but restrictions. ow that end seems ull o 

hope.

• The "hair - )mmediately ater the news o her husband's death( rs. allard races upstairs into her

room: "there stood( acing the open window( a comortable( roomy armchair. )nto this she san*( pressed down by a

physical ehaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul." The armchair symboli#es rest rom

her oppressive lie and reedom rom societal epectations.

Analysis: Irony

The following e+amples demonstrate irony in the story

$. r. allard is dead...but he isn't. ichards needs to be slapped around a bit( going around telling people that

r. allard is dead when he isn't. ) don't care that he got two telegrams. !e needs to fnd out or sure. ) haven't

seen this unreliable o a messenger since /riar 0ohn got held up on suspicion o small po. 1hen someone who's

supposed to be dead wal*s in( that's situational irony.

2. r. allard lives and rs. allard dies. That's situational irony.

3. r. allard dies. rs. allard cries...because she's happy. 4ou wouldn't epect that.

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5. 0osephine is worried that rs. allard has loc*ed hersel in her room and is ma*ing hersel ill. he's actually in

there contemplating how wonderul her lie's going to be. That's both situational and dramatic irony.

6. rs. allard dies rom the shoc* o seeing her husband. The doctors say she died rom "the 7oy that *ills." 1e

*now rs. allard is no where near ull o 7oy. That's dramatic irony.

Plot Structure

.e*iew the plot structure in " The tory o an !our" so you don)t sound silly during your ne+t class discussion /of course% the story)s

so short it would ta'e you the same amount of time to actually read it% but you searched for this and ,)m going to gi*e it to you alongwith a literary analysis of the story because that)s what you e+pect to find in a "Story of an Hour" Study 0uide

,t is a short story that obser*es the unities of time% place% and plot2 the action ta'es place in less than a day in a single location and has

no subplots 3ther than the news of the train wrec'% which happens before the actual narrati*e begins% brief reflections by 4rs 4allard

on the type of husband 4r 4allard was% and a few flash forwards on how her life will be% the story is told in chronological order

Summary

4rs 4allard has heart troubles /4ost study guides would briefly mention that 4rs 4allard)s heart troubles ha*e two meanings2 /1 she

has a physical defect5 /6 she is emotionally torn 4y study guide doesn)t because , ha*e an entire article on irony and symbolism in

"The Story of an Hour" so ,)ll 7ust briefly mention that double meaning of heart troubles because that)s what one should do with a literaryanalysis

4rs 4allard)s sister osephine% who was told by .ichards who was told by telegram down at the newspaper office% delicately tells 4rs

4allard the news of 4r 4allard)s death 4rs 4allard cries% goes to her room% reflects on what a great guy 4r 4allard was% and

re7oices that she is now free from her husband)s rule /this is what , meant by the emotional heart troubles thing

Her sister calls osephine from her room and they go downstairs to hang out with .ichards /if you)*e actually read the story% you realize

what a cornhole .ichards is ,f you ha*en)t read the story% .ichards is a cornhole The door opens and who enters9 4r 4allard /who

that cornhole .ichards said was dead

 0osephine shrie*s. ichards tries to shield rs. allard rom the shoc*ing view o her husband. rs. allard has a heartattac* and dies 8yes( that's irony9. The doctors say she died rom a "7oy that *ills" 8that's irony too9.

#hat is the Theme$

 The theme o "The tory o an !our" is very straightorward.

arriage is an oppressive institution 8in the $%th-century9.

 The story ta*es place in the latter part o the $%th-century. 1omen had very ew rights--they could not vote( had ew

opportunities or employment( and were epected to coo*( clean( and loo* pretty or their husbands. 1omen had verylittle recourse i they married an abusive or mean husband. Chopin ma*es r. allard a good man and a good

husband( highlighting( not the wic*edness o men( but the defciencies in society( which allowed a system o

unairness to eist.

inor Theme: +ie is not as it seems.

 The alse appearance that r. allard is dead mirrors the alse image that rs. allard loves being married.

Plot and Characterization

:ou)d probably be better off reading the actual story ,t)s only 1%;; words% but , told you ,)d e+plain the plot as part of the guide% so here

it is2

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.ichards tells 4rs 4allard that her husband dies in a train wrec' He wants to be the one to brea' the news to her because 4rs

4allard has heart problems <e find out soon enough that these heart problems are more than 7ust physical <e also find out that

.ichards needs to 'eep his big mouth shut /more on that in a second

4rs 4allard criesa lot She goes to her room% plops down on a chair% and stares out the window She struggles to suppress her

feelings% 'ind of li'e that time you dran' a gallon of mil' in an hour or ate == hard boiled eggs for dinner and tried to suppress *omit

/you)*e ne*er e+perienced it9 Try it and then finish the rest of this summary later Her feelings are that of 7oy% that of e+citement about

being free from her husband)s rule She contemplates how wonderful her life will be

%esson &deas

$. etting in "The tory o an !our" - ;nderstanding the theme o the story re&uires an understanding o

setting in "The tory o an !our." ost students could probably fgure out that the story ta*es place in one hour in

the allard home. They probably do not understand the social status o women in the late $%th-century. )nstruct

students toconstruct a timeline o women's rights. )'ve got a lesson plan right here.

2. Teach how to annotate a short story - <nnotating literature allows students to eplore aspects o a

literary wor* that interests them. =ecause "The tory o an !our" is only $(>>% words and can be copied on to one

slice o paper( it is ideal or annotating.!ere are instructions or annotating literature.

3. )rony is one o the hallmar*s o Kate Chopin's stories. <naly#e irony in "The tory o an !our" with this

lesson plan 8) reali#e it's actually a lesson plan or omeo and 0uliet( but it can be adapted &uite easily9. ) youreally li*e irony 8and who doesn't9( here's a list o short stories or teaching irony that you can use or comparison

purposes.

5. !ere are creative writing ideas: 8$9 rewrite the story rom =rently allard's point o view? 829 continue

the story( telling the events o the net hour? 839 moderni#e the story.

) threw in a bonus "tory o an !our" &ui# because ) li*e you so much and want you to come bac* again and

again( *ind o li*e r. allard( ecept ) don't resent you and wouldn't be relieved i you died in a train crash. The

answers to this "tory o an !our" &ui# are in bold type.

'The Story of an Hour' ui$. /rom what ailment does rs. allard su@erA

• *idney ailure

• heart trouble

• detached retinas

• !$$

2. 1hat might rs. allard's ailment symboli#eA

• her inability to see things as they are

• her inability to flter out less important things in lie

• her unhappiness and troubling emotions

• a raging desire or pig Besh

3. 1ho brea*s the news o r. allard's deathA• *ichards

• oberts

•  0osephine

• /riar 0ohn

5. The ollowing passage is an eample o irony: "+ouise( open the doorD ) beg? open the door--

you will ma*e yoursel ill. 1hat are you doing( +ouiseA /or heaven's sa*e open the door."

• situational

• dramatic

• verbal

• holistic

6. The ollowing passage is an eample o irony: "ome one was opening the ront door with alatch*ey. )t was =rently allard"

• situational

• dramatic

• verbal

• *oo*aloo*a

7/25/2019 Contextasdad

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/contextasdad 8/8

E. The ollowing passage is an eample o irony: "1hen the doctors came they said she had

died o heart disease--o the 7oy that *ills."

• situational

• dramatic

• verbal

• eral

F. 1hat is signifcant about the story's settingA

• The story+s set in a time period that a,orded -omen ery fe- rights.

•

)t ta*es place in a large house.•  The story encompasses one hour.

•  The setting ma*es no di@erence.

G. !ow could we best characteri#e =rently allard

• !e is an abusive husband who deserves to die in a fery train wrec*.

• !e's a conniving man who set up the train wrec* story so he could scare his wie and *ill her.

• He+s a typical husband in the late /0th1century.

• !e's an adulterer.

%. !ow would the story change i it were written todayA

•  There's no way allard leaves the house without permission.

• ichards calls allard on his cell phone and reali#es he's alive.

•

rs. allard smashes r. allard's ;H with a gol club and demands a divorce. 

*ichards tells Mrs. Mallard that her husband+s dead in order to get her in bed. &t

-or!s. Mallard -al!s in on the t-o in a passionate embrace and Mrs. Mallard dies of a heart

attac!.

$>. )n what season does the story ta*e place and why is it signifcantA

  The story ta!es place in Spring and symbolies a ne- beginning for Mrs. Mallard.

•  The story ta*es place in ummer and symboli#es the burning hot love rs. allard has or her

husband.

•  The story ta*es place in 1inter and symboli#es that everything dies.