The Story of an Hour

"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

"When the doctors came they said she had dies of heart disease-of joy that kills" (Chopin, 327).

The use of apostrophe is used when Mrs. Mallard remarks on her past with her husband after learning of his death. She addresses love as she described it to be "creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds" (Chopin, 326). Mrs. Mallard does not care for the fate of her husband, she is rather content with his death and freedom. She also recognizes death to be attempting to "possess" her. As Mrs. Mallard contends with his death, she began to see his death as her becoming "a goddess of Victory" as she had won her freedom from her husband that she claims to have only loved him partially. Lastly, the last line of the story fully sums up Mrs. Mallard's parting with her husband. As soon as he walks back in as nothing happened to him, she dies. The "of joy that kills" was directly associated and ironic with the joy she should have felt for his return yet she died out of shock instead. She was joyous when she thought he was dead but died when she found out he was really alive.