“Free! Body and soul free!” (The Story of an hour)
By phamho. Friday, 25. May 2007, 05:03:24
(Composed by Dang Xuan Thai Ngan DH02G-AV28)
The short story “The Story of an Hour” is as short as the shortness of an hour, within an hour, anything can happen. It is an hour for Mrs. Mallard to feel the things she never felt before, to fancy a free life ahead, to get in touch with the world outside, and then, she dies within that hour because hopes and dreams are suddenly taken away at the end by the sight of her husband coming back.
The short story “The Story of an Hour” is as short as the shortness of an hour, within an hour, anything can happen. It is an hour for Mrs. Mallard to feel the things she never felt before, to fancy a free life ahead, to get in touch with the world outside, and then, she dies within that hour because hopes and dreams are suddenly taken away at the end by the sight of her husband coming back.
The detail I am interested in the most is the reaction of Mrs. Mallard toward the saying “Free! Body and soul free!” It is not easy to understand her reaction. I think that reaction is the result of her inside conflict in which she hesitates about how to determine her own feelings: She doesn't know how to react, she should feel sorry about the death news, but she feels happy about freedom.
In the 19th century, this reaction was unacceptable in society, however, through the modern readers' eyes, her reaction is the explosion of true feeling which was repressed for a long time. In that century, a wife had to be subservient to her husband and her life was confined to the house. She was not free to do as she wanted. A traditional role like that makes Mrs. Mallard consider her marriage as a burden and she feels free when she gets to know about her husband's death. It is difficult to understand her reaction, since the story doesn't say about problems in her marriage. But I think that she feels overwhelmed with her everyday life of a stay-at-home wife, with complete dependence on Brently, his decisions, and maybe his dominance. She is probably disappointed with a harsh reality, and she is subconsciously looking for a chance to escape from the unhappy marriage.
Her saying “Free! Body and soul free!” is so direct and concise that some of my friends say that she does not love her husband. In my opinion, she loves her husband and sincerely cries for him when she hears of his death. What she does not love is the marriage which takes freedom away from her.
Through Mrs. Mallard reaction, I can see that she suffers a lot from her married life. Moreover, she has to confront an internal conflict between her desire and social principles. She tries to use her will to beat the feeling of freedom and the desire for independence but her will loses, and her true feeling takes control over her thinking. As a result, her reaction is different from what is usual and expected.
Her exclamation is also an objection to established social conventions which requires a wife to be subordinate and subservient to her husband. Mrs. Mallard, who represents the women in the 19th century, really wants more loose social principles which offer them more freedom and identity in marriage. Her reaction indicates her private needs, emotion and expectations which she keeps inside. The social norms repress Mrs. Mallard so intensely that she feels relieved just a short time after hearing of her husband's death news.
Personally, I think that the saying is the reaction of Mrs. Mallard to the coming escape from the marriage rather than the reaction to the death news of her husband. The reaction expresses the feeling of Mrs. Mallard about marriage: it is like a prison to her, she must live under the control of her husband, with little identity or time of her own and under his imposed “private will”. The reaction helps the reader identify more strongly with her need for individuality
Under strict established principles, the only solution for her problem is the death of her husband. That's the reason why although she loves her husband and acts as the society expects (“She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment”), she can not resist the sense of freedom at the prospect that she can live for herself, not for her husband. She welcomes and celebrates the death of her husband as a brand – new start of her life.
I can identify with Mrs. Mallard. To me, she is a poor lady who sacrifices herself for her husband. Her reaction shows that despite a lot of suffering, she is a dutiful wife to her husband until the last moment. She only dares to let her true feeling pour out after she hears of his death (not when he is alive) and in a place away from public view (her room). Her saying tells me that in her life she has never experienced such a moment of great joy, happiness and excitement like this. A free life is ahead of her, isolation and limitation in marriage that society principles impose on her no longer exist.
When I read this story the 1st time, it seemed to be a story of many unpredictable details. But after reading it carefully and discussing with my friend, I suddenly discover that the story contains a lot of foreshadowing details including the reaction of Mrs. Mallard: she should not be overjoyed at the bad news too soon and should not acquire so much positive energy and vitality like that! It's a sign for something bad and unusual to happen. .
Her whispered exclamations, “Free! Body and soul free!” keeps me wondering until the end of the story. It is the repression and limitation of being nothing more than Mr. Mallard's wife for so long that have created in Mrs. Mallard a desire for freedom too great to resist, even in a moment of mourning. However, until the last moment, she is a dutiful wife because except for the whispered saying, she does not dare to do anything that breaks the established social principles. To me, the story is still highly appreciated until strict social bias and peoples' expectations about gender roles in general and marriage in particular are denied completely.
WIDGETIZE
Anonymous # 14. September 2008, 23:38
Mrs Mallard's name is Louise. Did any one know that?