Heart Conditions In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

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Heart conditions are very serious conditions that can lead to a spur of the moment death. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the readers can quickly observe that Mrs. Mallard becomes too overwhelmed for her own well-being because of the fact that she has a severe heart condition. Through a closer look at Kate Chopin’s use of point of view, setting, tone, diction, images, and symbols the reader first believes that Mrs. Mallard’s husband’s (Brently Mallard) sudden appearance is the only cause of her heart failure, which ends up leading to her death. Daniel P. Deneau expresses that, “As all readers should agree, Louise Mallard receives a great shock, goes through a rapid sequence of reactions, is in a sense awakened and then seems to drink in "a …show more content…

Mallard, Richards, Josephine, and Mr. Mallard. The story continues by allowing the readers to see that Mrs. Mallard’s inconsistent emotions ascend from her actions and reactions to Brently Mallard’s “death.” As the story comes to a conclusion, the readers are finally able to comprehend that the immediate development of strain on Mrs. Mallard’s heart, causes her to lose her newly found freedom. She loses her newly found freedom due to her heart condition which leads to heart failure. This heart failure ultimately ends up resulting in Mrs. Mallard’s death. The readers first believe that Mrs. Mallard seeing her husband at the door is the only cause of her death, but as the story continues to develop, the readers find out that Mrs. Mallard’s death can also be blamed on Josephine and Richards. This concludes that Mrs. Mallard’s death was caused by a combination of Richard’s slow reactions at the door, the fact that Josephine convinces Mrs. Mallard to leave her room, and Brently Mallard’s sudden appearance back at their