Mrs. Mallard In Kate Chopin's Story Of An Hour

Question one from the study guide of Story of an Hour (1894), asks, “Why does Chopin introduce the reader to her protagonist as “Mrs. Mallard” rather by her first name?” I believe Chopin uses this as an indicator to inform the reader that in fact she's a married woman. The last name Mallard has the meaning of a wild duck, this species is quite capricious Throughout the story, we learn how Mrs. Mallard felt emotionally about the news of her husband passing away in the railroad accident and how those emotions fluctuated. The constant wanting of freedom was apparent whilst reading the story, here she expresses that wanting, “And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of …show more content…
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.” Being married to Mr. Mallard somehow took away this part of her where she didn't feel free and once she found out about the news of his passing it brought a sense of liberation. If Chopin indeed would've used Mrs. Mallard's first name there would be this sense of her marital status as being single. To answer question four on page 117 of the Kirszner & Mandell. Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Custom Edition for Prince George's Community College, “Do you think Brently Mallard physically abused his wife? Did he love her? Did she love him? Exactly why was she so relieved to be rid of him? Can you answer any of these questions with certainty?” Personally, I don't believe that Mr. Mallard physically abused his wife, but rather mentally abused, and put her in state in which she felt unhappy within the marriage, almost as if she was held captive. For Mrs. Mallard to have the feelings of joy upon hearing the tragedy of her husband's death implies that there was something rather wrong in the marriage. She admitted how she loved him

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