Question

At the beginning of paragraph 9, Mrs. Mallard senses “something coming to her.” What is it? What physical effect does it have on her? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

Mrs. Mallard is the main character in Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour". After being told her husband has died in a train accident, Mrs. Mallard locks herself up in her room. While looking out her open window and watching the world for some time, while also thinking of her husband, Mrs. Mallard has an epiphany.

At the beginning of paragraph 9, she feels something coming to her. It is the surprising sense of freedom, of being able to be herself without having to worry about her husband's opinion. This amazing new feeling affects her physically. She begins to breathe rapidly, as if she is excited about this sudden realization. Below, you can see the textual evidence:

There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.

Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!"