My initial reaction to the story was surprise. It begins very darkly mentioning heart conditions and then the supposed death of the husband. The most interesting part to me was how quickly Mrs Mallard's opinion on the death changed from sorrow to joy. I was surprised at the sudden change of tone in the story and was expecting something to happen to Mrs. Mallard by the end.
I think one of the main literary elements in the story is irony. After the story started out with the sister worried about her heart and that the sorrow of the death might kill her, the “joy” of her liberation was was ultimately did her in. The main point the author was trying to make was that the husbands death did grant Mrs. Mallard a new freedom and independence. Since the story was written in the late 1800's it makes sense for the women to feel constrained to the house. When she goes up into her room she sees an entirely new world outside and a new joy even if at first she doesn't believe that she should feel that way.
The question I would like to know is why was she so happy? And how controlling was her husband.
I think that she became suddenly happy because of the world outside her window. It is detailed to us a very bright and happy place with birds chirping and a light breeze all under a blue sky. I think that Mrs. Mallard had failed to witness the beauty of the world outside prior to this and seeing how nice it can be helped to reverse her mood around.
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI think the author wanted us to know that sometimes we are put in a situation that we can't escape. That was my very thought as well. How can you be so happy to be "free" from the person you are suppose to spend the rest of your life with. It made it seem that Mrs. Mallard rather be dead than to be in a marriage that could have potentially been horrible. The author said her husband was a loving man but I guess we will never know.
I was also very surprised. It was shocking how fast her opinion of the situation changed. I also thought the story would end with her having a heart attack and dying but not from being overjoyed.
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