This summary provides an alternative perspective of the short story "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin by focusing on the character of Brently Mallard. The summary describes Brently returning home late after forgetting his wife Louise's favorite umbrella. On the train ride home, he reflects on their marriage which was arranged by their parents. Though Brently loves Louise, she has always been unhappy and longing for freedom. When Brently arrives home, he is surprised to find his friend Richards there who tells him Louise has been informed of his death. Brently sees Louise on the stairs and realizes she has found a brief moment of freedom in his supposed death. In 3 sentences or less, this summary provides an alternative

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My name is Grace Gary, 21, I live in Harlem, I can speak conversational Mandarin,
and I have been living in Japan, Thailand, and China ever since I was in Junior High. I just
received my acceptance letter from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, so I’ve recently
moved from Shanghai to Manhattan.
I’m interested in a long-term paid-internship or full/part-time position. I have attached
my resume outlining my work as an English teacher and tutor while living in China. I am
punctual and have a flexible schedule due to attending an online university, so I can work the
hours you need and arrive on time.
I may be young, but I am also a hard worker abundant in energy and creativity. I am
capable of working alone or in a team, and as an English teacher, I am confident in speaking
and writing capabilities, as well as being able to adapt in situations when contingencies arrive
as well as when the company is short staffed. I regularly conversed with the parents of my
students, so I understand the importance of having a friendly and welcoming countenance.
My attached resume, references, and recommendations can all be testaments to this.

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• 1 ! years of experience as an English teacher to children ages 3 to 10
• Reliable – always punctual, neatly dressed, organized, well-liked by parents
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• Flexible – my schedule is flexible, so my work hours can be what ever you
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• Friendly – never experienced conflict with co-workers or parents!
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• !"#$%!"#&'()*+,%-./0(-0*120+(*, Phoenix International Youth Educational Centre%
• 2014-2015: English Language Home Tutor %
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•Nick Dong, Supervisor at Phoenix Learning English School, Fall 2013 – Spring 2014,
Shanghai, China. nickdong@fengyouth.com
(86) 139 1686 8931
•Miles Cheng, Assistant Teacher at Phoenix Learning English School, 2013-2014,
Shanghai, China. hellomengchao@gmail.com
(86) 186 1781 9169
•Kenneth She, Employer for Home Tutoring Two of His Children English, Fall 2014 –
Winter 2015, Shanghai, China. kennethshe@hotmail.com
(86) 139 1618 1962 [Recommendation Attached Below]
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High School Diploma: Spring 2012
Chengdu Meishi International School (An IB World School)
Chengdu, China
Sophomore Undergraduate: Fall 2013 – Spring 2015
American Public University System

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•Robert King, College Counselor, Chengdu Meishi IB World School, Fall 2010 – Spring
2012, Chengdu, China. roberts.king@hotmail.com
(86) 028 8533 0638
Dr. Amy M. Green, English Literature & Composition Professor, American Public
University System, Fall 2014. amy.green@mycampus.apus.edu [Recommendation Attached
Below]
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• 05/2014 – 06/2014 Shanghai United International School
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Fran Bruce, Academic Principal and Head of Benchmarking, Shanghai United
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(86) 158 0044 6235

6. Dr. Amy M. Green
PO Box 91502
Henderson, NV 89009
Amy.green@mycampus.apus.edu
January 9, 2015
RE: Grace Gary
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak about Grace Gary and to provide my impressions of her abilities as a
student. She was a student of mine in my on-line English 200 course for American Public University. Over the
course of our 8-week semester, I witnessed Grace’s commitment to her education and to growing her own skills as a
student and as a college writer. She has demonstrated keen insight into the material we read and was an active
participant in weekly class discussions. I came away from the semester impressed with her growth as a student and
her commitment to always better herself.
I can provide a specific example of why I was so impressed. After the first two writing assignments of the semester,
Ms. Gary approached me with concerns about her grades. She had not done as well as she wanted and was
concerned with making improvements to the overall structure of her writing. We had conversations about areas
where she needed to continue to strive to improve her writing and she applied those skillfully to the remaining two
writing assignments in our course. She improved, by a couple of grade levels, the overall quality of her writing at a
structural level, something many students struggle to do.
It is rare to find a student who is so willing to apply changes and to put in the work needed to improve a skill like
writing. I found that Ms. Gary was also a quick learner. Once she understood why I asked for the changes I did, she
was able to incorporate them into future assignments. I think this speaks to her critical thinking abilities.
Ms. Gary demonstrated to me that she is hard-working, intelligent, and articulate this past semester. I am happy to
provide any additional information you might need about her.
Kindest Regards,
Dr. Amy M. Green

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Grace Gary
Dr. Amy Green
ENGL 200
November 30, 2014
“The Story of an Hour”: Brently Mallard’s Journey Home
Leaving out a little later than usual, Brently Mallard opened his umbrella to the spring
rain. It was his wife’s favorite umbrella, so once he realized halfway to the station that it
was forgotten beside his desk, he ignored the train whistle’s call and made the trek back.
Avoiding the puddles that were already beginning to form, he remembered the earlier bet
with his wife that it wouldn’t rain today. She politely disagreed, and her fair hands
equipped him the umbrella with an air of certainty. There were no signs in the blue skies
and gentle breeze at the time, but he should have known not to bet against Louise.
He had always wondered how she was able to predict the weather and thought perhaps, it
was due to cloud watching being her hobby. Whenever she had a moment, he would
almost always find her there, in front of the bedroom window, relaxed in her armchair,
staring with hopeless abandon. At first, he thought it was the scenery she was gazing at.
Then he questioned whether she was envious of the birds; wanting nothing more than to
grow wings and fly away, leaving this life and her husband behind in a blaze of feathers.
He ultimately came to believe that she was actually staring at nothing- nothing at all. The
same exact “nothing” that she had been feeling for many years on the inside.

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Finally arriving at the train station, he enters just in time to hear the end of an
announcement concerning a delay in the schedule. Now, he would have to take the train
going the opposite way; a roundabout route that would take an extra hour to arrive home.
He shook the rain off the umbrella so that it’s royal blue edges flapped in the air with
every twirl. The umbrella was as blue as the skies he saw this morning, and he wondered
if it was the reason behind the umbrella being his wife’s favorite. Knowing the damage
the concrete would make to the tip, he continued twirling it on its head listening to the
flapping sounds it created. Stepping on to the train, the sound imitated the wings of birds.
No matter how much he loved her, it was always there, like a stain on an otherwise
spotless marriage. For years, their friends and families had thought they were happily and
hopelessly in love, but that had always been true for only one person. He knew even
when they were children that God had gifted her with a rebellious spirit. Much to his
chagrin, little Louise wanted nothing to do with marriage; living her days preparing food,
cleaning house, and birthing children, as she would describe it. When their parents
arranged for their marriage, he was relieved; he knew that it would have been the only
way that he could have her. Those who knew her joked that she was the embodiment of a
hurricane, and looking out at the passing storm, he would agree. She had a fire in her soul
that danced bewitchingly in her eyes, but grew ever dim as the years went on. The dying
embers of her eyes reflected the worsening state of her heart, and he was tempted to ask
the physician if it being broken had anything to do with the looming signs of heart
failure.
Despite her protests, her embraces, her butterfly kisses, he honestly felt like he had failed
her. She had always wanted to spend years travelling to exotic lands, tasting their

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culinary dishes, learning to sing airs of their culture and history, and all else that he just
couldn’t afford. He sighed as he stood in front of the door, staring at its handle without
making a move to grasp it. What was the old adage? If you love something- truly love
something, you must let it go.
He kept putting it off, but he had received a raise at work for some time now and had
been consistently putting a good chunk of savings in the bank. All that he could not
afford for her before due to expenses and her health were now in reach. They never had
children to leave the sum to in a will, so it just seems silly keeping it there. After telling
the news, he imagines he would kiss her and tell her that he understood her reasons
wanting- or even needing- to leave. He would be grateful of the years he had with her,
and express his hopes to her that after the adventures she’d return home, safe and sound,
because he would be waiting.
He clumsily took out the chain of keys from his pocket, blundering at singling out the
right one till they dropped on the mat in front of the door. Looking down, he saw an
ornately written “welcome home” mocking him. No matter how many keys he kept
before, he almost always could identify the latchkey of the front door. He took a moment
to recollect his thoughts and cease the tremors of his hands. When he finally bent down to
pick them up, he saw a shadow moving beneath the door. It was unusual to find her
moving about in the foyer. At this time of day, she would be in the dining room after
preparing dinner. He did come back rather late- perhaps she was waiting inside? He
gripped the heavy latchkey in his hands as if it were to open Pandora’s box and not
simply the front door of his home. Tired and suddenly feeling very aged, he placed a
heavy hand on door and walked inside.

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What he first noticed was the distinct smell in the air, or perhaps, the lack thereof. Even
after arriving home later than usual, he could tell from the lack of aromas that dinner
wasn’t ready. The second thing he noticed was the sound of resonating footsteps heading
towards the foyer that could only belong to a man. Walking further inside his eyes
greeted the alarmed you expression on his best friend.
“Brently! You’re… You’re alive,” the man said in disbelief, clasping hands to the sides
of his face, as if checking that he was indeed not an illusion.
With his brow furrowing, he gave an awkward but affirming nod to the man a few years
his junior. “And a good afternoon to you too! What brings you here, Richards? Did
Louise invite you and her sister for dinner?”
“No! No, no- we had thought you were dead!”
Richards was always known for being a trickster as a lad, but Bently thought he had
grown out of it. “Of course, old friend. But I’m afraid now is not a good time for one of
your jokes. Now if you’ll excuse me, there is a matter I must speak with my wife-”
“You can’t! Not yet, she needs time to-“
“Time to what,” he said, aggravated that the boy was still blocking his way in his own
home. He needed to speak with Louise as soon as he could, before he could change his
mind.
The creaking floor boards came from behind Richards, when she was being guided down
the stairwell then froze in place. It was at that moment he spots her next to her sister and
their eyes connect; his exotic bird with clipped wings. With him was the news that would

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grow those wings back and re-ignite the dying embers in her eyes. For the first time in
years, she would kiss him, and not the other way around. For the first time in years he
would see her wearing an old smile that could take the breath out of a storm.
There she was, ever the same with certain sadness in her eyes; over flowing with tears; a
face contorted with pain; a fire permanently extinguished. Then, she was there no longer.
It says a great deal when the woman you love dies from the sight of you.

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Grace Gary
Dr. Amy Green
ENGL 200
November 30, 2014
Brently Mallard’s Journey Home: Follow-Up Essay
While reading Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”, she describes a scenario that
was similar to a common practice during the 19th
century. Arranged marriages were
oppressive forces on women during Chopin’s time, and she ventures out to convey it in a
story that’s theme balances between freedom and death. The protagonist, Louise Mallard,
was so much longing to be free, that it leads to her untimely death. These strong desires,
repressed by the cultural norms of America, still resulted in the character’s “awakening
into selfhood” (Jamil). Mrs. Mallard's "heart trouble" is not only a physical ailment, but
also a symbol of a character that has unconsciously surrendered her identity as an
individual (Jamil). From this interpretation of Louise, Bentley Mallard’s perspective was
that over the years, Louise was simultaneously worsening in health, as well as worsening
in spirit (i.e. he fire in her eyes). Although the historical times this book was written,
would suggest women were oppressed in public and in marriage, Louise does not so
much describe her husband as an oppressive and domineering force in this unwilling
marriage, but someone who loved her dearly. The use of Brently Mallard’s perspective is

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an attempt to discover what an arranged marriage is like between a man in love and a
woman who is not.
To determine if the marriage between Louise and Brently could have been
arranged, research needed to date back to time when Kate Chopin wrote “The Story of an
Hour”. During the late 1800s, it was still a time when families came together and married
off their young women, sometimes to an older or wealthy man with good social standing
(Applbaum). In the text, Louise Mallard is also physically described as having facial lines
that “bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (107). The repression may be
interpreted as Louise accepting society’s expectations of her marriage, while still holding
on to the strength that defies it. It’s from this information and her death being her only
source of freedom, that lead’s to believe communication and understanding between the
two were very limited, which was common in arranged and forced marriages
(Applbaum).
After making the decision that Brently and Louise Mallard marriage was an
arranged one, the next focus was on statements in the original story used to describe
husband and wife and their relationship. For example, the characteristic of Louise having
a slowly dying fire in her eyes derived from her having “a dull stare in her eyes, whose
gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky” (107). In the
conclusion, Brently’s loving description of his wife, as well as his hopes of being a
recipient of her love, was derived from Louise’s depiction of her husband while saddened
by his “passing”. Despite the differing social standing that Louise knows is present, she
does not hold ill will towards her husband and knows she’ll weep once she sees “the face
that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead” (107). Lastly,

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the hour spent in the original short story had Louise Mallard looking at the sky nearly the
entire time, so it was deciphered that this was actually a hobby of hers. In addition, her
forlorn looks towards the sky provided context to Brently Mallard’s worries that his wife
was like a bird who might fly away and leave him behind.
When Brently appeared in the original story, it was only at the end once it was
revealed that everyone mistakenly thought that he had died in a train accident. Since there
was not much detail about how the accident occurred or where he was coming from,
additional research was needed to determine how he avoided the accident and why he
didn’t even know it happened. Since tracks were still being built during this time, it can
be assumed that Brently was either a rail construction worker or a commuter, thus
creating the possibility of him ever being in danger of a lethal train accident. It was in
1889, that both the first interurban electric rail lines were laid, and that “The Story of an
Hour” was written and published. During the 1890s, commuting by train became an
aspect of daily life, thus Brently Mallard can be assumed to be a commuter (Foote).
Similar to the original, the short story through Brently’s perspective ends in
tragedy. The irony in Louise dying to be free is matched by Brently arriving too late with
the prospect of freedom. Due to both character’s motives being completely opposite in
nature, tragedy befell them in hopes that an arrange marriage would grant one happiness,
while the other believed happiness lies in escaping from it. Without realizing it, the
marriage collapsed and resulted in Albert Einstein’s definition of marriage:
“Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the
hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed.”

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Works Cited
Applbaum, Kalman D. "Marriage with the Proper Stranger: Arranged Marriage in
Metropolitan Japan." Ethnology 34.01 (1995): 37-51. Academia.edu. University of
Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
<https://www.academia.edu/639646/Marriage_with_the_Proper_Stranger_Arranged_Mar
riage_in_Metropolitan_Japan>.
ENGL 200: Composition and Literature. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011: 105-108. Web.
30 November 2014.
Foote, Jeremy. "Speed That Kills: The Role Of Technology In Kate Chopin's THE
STORY OF AN HOUR." Explicator 71.2 (2013): 85-89. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
Jamil, S. S. "Emotions in THE STORY OF AN HOUR." The Explicator 67.3 (2009):
215-220. ProQuest. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.