External Conflict In The Story Of An Hour

Words: 145
Pages: 1

In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard goes through three different external conflicts. When she finds out the news about her husband’s death, those close to her are very worried about her heart problems and how she will take the news. Initially Mrs. Mallard is very sad and grieves for her husband. She quickly realizes that she is now free. She admits “she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not” (654). Within the hour the story takes place, Mrs. Mallard realizes how free she truly is and cannot wait to live life on her own. Her sister insists she comes out of her room and joins them. At the same moment the door opens, her husband walks in. This is her first external conflict. It is Mrs. Mallard against her husband; she is