The Story of an Hour Essay 4: Analysis of a Short Story Was it really joy that took Mrs. Mallard’s life? There are many points in the story that show Mrs. Mallard was an unhappy woman. The fact that Brently Mallard’s name was leading the list of fatalities, suggests that he was a prominent member of his community. This also could mean that he was somewhat rich. I suspect that they were married for the wrong reasons. The story states clearly that “often she had not”, loved her husband. Clues of this broken relationship are given early on when the author says, “she went away to her room alone.” The statement implies that Mr. and Mrs. Mallard did not share a room together, which may also explain why there are no children in the story. If that’s not the case, the room may be called hers to show that she spends a lot of time there. I think that would also be reasonable since she would probably spend a lot of time thinking and getting away from her husband whom she didn’t always love. When the author compares Mrs. Mallard’s sobbing to a baby sobbing in its’ dreams, I think of her crying with little real emotion, or valid reason. While the author is transcribing Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts, it is revealed that she would rather live for herself than for Mr. Mallard and his powerful will. I also wondered why Brently had been on the list of fatalities. He had obviously been somewhere his wife, and friends hadn’t known of. If he was having an affair, it would explain a lot about why the couple don’t seem to be in love. Before she left her room, she prayed that life might be long. We are then told that the day before she had hardly felt the same way. That strengthens the fact that she is more joyful and eager to be free. The doctors in the story thought that her death was a result of heart disease, of joy that kills. But I think that it was exactly the opposite. Before Mrs. Mallard becomes “Louise”, the author says there was something coming to her. She felt it “creeping out...