*
(Click on Image for Larger Version)
____________________________________________________________________
The emotion Louise feels after finding out about her husband’s death is called “monstrous joy” (para.12) , and this description fits perfectly her state of mind at its highest intensity and indicates to the reader that the most important thing for Louise is her freedom. The joy is monstrous, not only because it is forcefully felt, but also because of her awareness that popular opinion would condemn it. Thus, it illustrates once more the conflict between Louise’s private thoughts and her surroundings. The monstrosity of her joy and the liveliness and passion of her inner existence also runs contrary to the way she is described physically, as a perfectly angelic Victorian lady, “young with a fair, calm face” (para. 8) and with “two white, slender hands” (para. 10.).
Smith, N. (2009). “Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin: Language,
-----emotion and marriage. Article Myriad.
-----Retrieved from http://www.articlemyriad.com/story_hour.htm
*