The Story of an Hour- Study Questions

1. The story says Mrs. Mallard “had loved him [her husband]–sometimes. Often she did not.” If she was “often” not in love with him, why did she marry him?
Ms. Mallard married her husband because it may have been that her marriage was arranged for her. During the 1800's, many marriages were set up for the newlyweds, and most of the time many wives did not meet their husbands until the day of their wedding.

2. What was life like for Mrs. Mallard in the home of Brently Mallard?
Ms. Mallard's life in the home of Brently Mallard was very hard for her to live. With her quotes of "FREE, free" tells the reader that she was under a lot of stress under her husband's rule. She may have been living as a house-wife where chores and fulfilling his needs could be very overwhelming.

3. In the report of the train accident, Brently Mallard's name was at the top of the list of fatalities (Paragraph 2). Does this information mean that Mallard was an important citizen in his community? Does it also suggest that perhaps Louise married him, in part, because of his standing in the community?
Because Brently's name was at the top of the fatality list does not neccesarily mean that he was an important figure to his community. The list could have been put together alphabetically. On the other hand, if it was created to show the upper-class first, it could be a possibility that Louise married her husband for his money so she can be finacially stable.

4. Do you believe Brently Mallard mistreated his wife? In answering this question, keep in mind the following: (1) In Paragraph 13, Louise Mallard recalls that Brently was kind and that "he had never looked save with love upon her." (2) However, Paragraph 8 had previously informed the reader that Mrs. Mallard's face "bespoke repression," and Paragraph 14 says Brently had a "powerful will bending her."
I don't believe Mr. Mallard mistreated his wife in a physical aspect, but maybe emotionally by controling her actions and making sure she is abiding to his every wish.

5. How much of Mrs. Mallard's apparent unhappiness in her marriage was her own fault?
Part of Ms. Mallard's unhappiness may be her fault, but all in all, it is her marriage. Trying to please her husband, and failing over and over again may be what is really killing her.

6. After Mrs. Mallard receives news that her husband died in a train accident, she goes to “her room.” Do these two words mean that she slept separately from her husband? Does the fact that no children are named in the story indeed indicate that she and her husband slept apart?
No, the term "her room" may just be the way the author wrote it, not so much intentionally. But now that her husband is "dead", she may refer to her to it as her own room.

7. Research the life of Kate Chopin (1851-1904). Then decide whether the death of her husband in 1882 influenced her when she wrote “The Story of an Hour,” published in 1894 in Vogue magazine.
Kate's depression in her real marriage, I think, is revealed throughout "The Story of an Hour." Her real husband had left her in debt, and after his death she had "flirted outrageously" with other men. With the death of Brently in "Story of an Hour", she becomes very conceled to herself, and as the reader you can't see Louise going to flirt with another man.

8. Did author Chopin herself face problems similar to those of Mrs. Mallard?
In some ways more than others, but I think that Kate Chopain decided to right her story using Mrs. Mallard so others can hear about her story.