Kate Chopin

 Upon first reading of this story I had a lot of conflicting responses. My first initial response, was that Mrs. Mallard was truly distressed at the news of her husbands demise. When she shuts herself off from her friends and family, we are first given the imagery of an open window, and my mind conjured the belief that this was a story of how she throws herself from that window in misery at the loss of her love. As the story progresses we see her own inner turmoil, of knowing that she loved this man, but also the undeniable relief at his death. I have never experienced the death of a partner, but when a relationship ends you often feel this weight lift off of you, like you can breathe for the first time even though you hadn't realized you'd been struggling. When going through my separation I was saddened by all that I was losing from that relationship, but once I moved past my grief I was able to see all the opportunities ahead of me and became hopeful for what lie ahead. I felt that from Mrs. Mallard, she grieved the loss of a life, but felt joy in the birth of her own new future. The last line, in all honesty, brought a laugh from me- 'of the joy that kills'. This poor woman had been given a glimmer of hope yet in an instant felt it all dashed away, the return of that burden and weight truly crushed and killed her. 

Comments

  1. Tom LavazziJanuary 8, 2023 at 8:18 AM

    a last laugh for the reader, to be sure--but a bitter sweet one, for reasons you mention. On the right track overall, here: one can both "truly" grieve yet feel "joy" at the same time---this is what of course creates the conflict. First came the grief--spontaneous, pure, and intense, as the story's detail suggest; then the oncoming "joy" begins to be sensed (unconsciously at first, but revealed through details M Mallard observes)--and this is when we see the struggle and conflict develop, eventually breaking into conscious, full embrace (just as intense as the former grief) of the new, revealed possibilities. Note how details of the story bring us along with the protagonist's development

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2023 at 8:39 AM

    I can laughh about this as well. As I now the feeling of being (free) from relation in the sense that it ended and you can move in and be happy. If hat gotten taken away from me it would be the joy that kills to hahaha. In all seriousness I can see how the death of her husband let her have that feeling because in this days she would never have that opportunity to have peace and happiness.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2023 at 7:32 PM

    nice blog and I agree about how ms Millard was sadden about her husband death but yet felt joy about her new future. It was good how you also mentioned being in a relationship and how it feels.

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