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The story of an hour


            Love, hate, sadness, joy, hope, and anger are just a few of the many human emotions. Almost everyone has experienced them, and they play a major role in people's lives. Strong emotions, such as love or grief over a dead loved one seem to have a way of opening people's eyes to the world around them and also allowing them to appreciate their own mortality. In "The Story of an Hour", by Kate Chopin, the death of Mrs. Mallard's husband symbolically sets her free and opens her eyes to a world she was once blind to.
             Upon hearing the news of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard receives the news the way any wife is expected to. She weeps uncontrollably in the arms of her sister, and stricken with grief leaves the room to go upstairs to her bedroom mourn in silence. Slinking away to sulk in solitude, she ascends the stairs to sit sobbing in destitute at her bedroom window. Exhausted from the emotional trauma and stress of the experience, she goes into a state of shock in which she ceases to think. .
             Slowly a feeling starts to creep through the darkness of the experience and fills her heart. At first, her fear tries to suppress this feeling, but it is too strong. Blue skies, fresh air, perhaps even chirping birds, begin to awaken her senses. She surrenders to the feeling, and at long last, she realizes she is free. It is a freedom that fills her eyes with light, changing them from somber lifeless orbs to glowing lanterns of life. She is free from attachment and compromise and she opens her arms to welcome this overpowering feeling. This new freedom opens her eyes to old sights and sensations, yet gives them new meaning. This feeling, stronger than any feeling she has ever felt, gives her new life. She dreams of days to come filled with nothing but the pursuit of her own desires. Finally being able to live her own life, she whispers "Free! Body and Soul Free!".
             However, all good things must come to an end.


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