Chapter Text
Ostensibly, Mrs Mallard appears upset by the news of her husband's death, but as the story progresses, Mrs Mallard eventually finds freedom and comfort in her death of her husband. However, this is short lived, as her husband is later revealed to be alive, and she dies from the shock of the knowledge. Perhaps the character of Mrs Mallard was created to show the lack of freedom and the constant restraint of societal expectations women had in that time period.
In the beginning of the story, Mrs Mallard was saddened by the death of her husband. This can be seen in the phrase "she wept at once, with sudden, wild, abandonment." The adjectives "sudden" and "wild" contrasts what the readers expect of her, as women were expected to not show a lot of emotions during that time period. This shows the immense grief she feels over her husband's death. This is further exaggerated by the metaphor "the storm of grief", the word "storm" shows that the emotions were intense, but also implies that they are short lived as storms are often over quickly.
In the middle of the story, Mrs Mallard finds hope and comfort in the death of her husband. The text uses pathetic fallacy in "the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life" and "countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves." The natural imagery juxtaposes the grief she originally feels, the spring imagery also foreshadows a change in her perspective as spring is a change from the darker winter to a more hopeful spring. The onomatopoeia "twittering" creates a sense of liveliness, especially since they come from "sparrows", which represents happiness. She describes this joy as " a monstrous joy", the use of juxtaposition shows her conflicted feelings: on one hand, she should be grieving, but on the other, she is happy about the death of her husband. This can also be shown by the repetition of the word "free" as well, which shows how she is no longer bound by societal expectations.
At the end of the piece, though, Mrs Mallard learns that her husband is alive, and dies from the knowledge. The words "piercing cry", which is used to describe her reaction to the news, shows the shock and disappointment she feels. The short sharp sentence "But Richard was too late" gives a sense of finality, where the word "late" shows the inevitability of the situation. The doctors declares that she "died of heart disease--of the joy that kills." The words "heart disease" echos the beginning where she was mentioned to have a "heart trouble", which could imply heartbreak. The use of dramatic irony (as she died from being upset over her husband being alive) also shows that men (i.e. the doctors) are forcing their viewpoint on her even after her death.
Perhaps the character of Mrs Mallard was created to show the lack of freedom and the constant restraint of societal expectations women had in that time period, hence why she considers herself "free" after the death of her husband. Mrs Mallard remains shaped by the society she lives in, going as far to shame herself for the relief and peace she feels about her husbands death, as shown in "she was waiting for it, fearfully." This shows the patriarchal society of the time period and the limitations women were placed under.