I agree that The Story of an Hour was one of the more thought provoking stories I have read all semester. I think that it is an ironic story with a twisted ending that could be a more modern day reenactment of Romeo and Juliet, only Romeo lives. The characters switch roles at the end of the story. At the beginning of the story we discover that Mrs. Mallard’s husband has just died in a railroad accident and her sister Josephine, and Mr. Mallard’s friend Robert are there to comfort Mrs. Mallard. Josephine, as the story mentions, tells Mrs. Mallard the news of her husband’s death in a gentle manner, keeping in mind that Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition. Mrs. Mallard cries at first, but then goes off alone to mourn her husband’s death in the privacy of her bedroom. Once there she goes into a deep state of contemplation and reflection on her own life. It is at this point in the story where Mrs. Mallard comes to a realization that she is free at last, a free women, with “no one to live for.†(450) Chopin is trying to make a point here about woman’s role as “wife,†and how the husband in a sense has some possession over his wife. Now that Mr. Mallard is dead, his wife finally feels free from his possession. The ironic twist however comes when her husband walks in the door, bringing about her death, proving that even in his death he has control over her. I also noticed that while Mr. Mallard is thought to be dead his wife is referred to as Mrs. Mallard, but after his return she is referred to as his “wife” again. I thought this was significant.       Â