The plot and setting of a short story are two important aspects that drives the story and its message ("Turk's Head Review", 2004-2005). The conflict within the plot is what takes the story from one gear to the next. While the plot is the portion of the story that identifies its series of events, the setting is the portion that describes when and where the series of events occur. The structure of the plot and setting in "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin allows the reader to visualize the story as it is happening, and it also identifies the conflict of self-assurance as it occurs. .
The plot and structure of this story is written in a traditional short story format that begins with a situation of Mrs. Mallard having a heart condition, and then transitions into the conflict of Mr. Mallard dying and Mrs. Mallard's sister having to break the news to her gently because of her heart condition. As the complication of Mrs. Mallard trying to mourn the death of her husband, the climax arises as she begins to find peace and freedom within herself due to the death. As the story continues, after Mrs. Mallard has found her peace, suspense begins to formulate as she makes her way down the stairs only to see her husband, who is well and alive, walk through the front door of their home. The story then concludes with the death of Mrs. Mallard, who dies in peace and joy, which she found while she mourned the death of her husband, who in actuality was not dead. .
The main character in the story, Mrs. Mallard, obtains two different types of conflict; man versus man, and then the effects of that conflict generates the conflict of man versus self. Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition, which places fear in her sister when she has to break the news that her husband has died. Not only has her husband died, but her sister was afraid that the news would cause her to have a heart attack and die too.
