"The Story of an Hour".
Mallard, who is told that her husband has died. At very the beginning of the story, the author stresses the fact that Mrs. Mallard "was afflicted with a heart trouble". This makes her sister, Josephine, to tell her this bad news gently. However, her "affliction" has a double meaning, because it might also be related with something mental and her "heart trouble" could be related with love. Although the author plays with this double meaning, it is clarified in the end of the story, when the doctors say "she had died of heart disease". In my opinion, the metaphorical meaning of Mrs. Mallard's heart trouble could be associated with the idea that she felt somehow "repressed" in her marriage, which seems obvious when, after being told about her husband's death, she feels "free!, body and soul free!". Therefore, it is true that she had a heart affliction, this one related with love - and marriage. .
Louise is told about her husband's death in a gentle way because such piece of impacting news may damage the physical and mental health of any happy wife in love with her husband. Therefore, Mrs. Mallard is supposed to react this way, without believing Mr. Mallard is dead and blocking out this idea. However, Louise's reaction is quite different because, although she cries at first, then she realizes that the fact of his death means freedom for her and no more sacrifices. This is stressed to show this idea of marriage as a required sacrifice from both men and women and the end of individual freedom, only regained by your fellow's death. .
After knowing the news, Mrs. Mallard goes to her room and sinks into an armchair, "pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach her soul". Her physical and mental exhaustions come from different causes. She feels physically exhausted because of the impact of the news, which made her cry "at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms".