Death is just one of the many phases that most people go through in life. Almost everybody has probably experienced the death of someone special to him or her. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", Mrs. Mallard deals with the passing away of her husband. At first glance of this short story, it may seem that she is deeply saddened and disappointed with her husband's death. Although, a closer look on the story and she seems to rejoice at his death. Many clues in "The Story of an Hour" point out that Mrs. Mallard appreciates her husband's death rather than mourning over it.
As the story begins, it informs the reader that Mrs. Mallard suffers from some sort of heart problem. Knowing this, her sister Josephine attempts to report the news that her husband has died to Mrs. Mallard as gently as she could. For example, Josephine tells her "in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half concealing"(360). Obviously Mrs. Mallard's sister thinks that she will be utterly devastated, as most people would be if their spouse died. At first Mrs. Mallard cried uncontrollably and seemed devastated, then she retreated to her room to think. She gazed out the window and saw many things; these things made her realize a strange truth to the matter. The author describes many things that she saw out of her window "new spring life", "patches of blue sky"(360). These things symbolize a new beginning and a new life. Then the author goes on describing that the character begins to feel something "coming to her and she is waiting for it", she tries to repel what is happening to her but she can not do it(361). The character is beginning to realize that her husband's death is a good thing. She starts to feel a sort of freedom from him; a new life is coming to her. She starts commenting to herself that she is free now, and although for a minute she feels scared at what she had said; she feels that it's ok to feel this way.