It was a day with a clear blue sky. It was peaceful and I was glad especially knowing that my husband went off on a trip. Why do I say Iâm glad? I wonder myself. Love is that sort of feeling of deep affection towards one another or the act of wanting to see someone by your side. Love however is something that I canât truly define. I love my husband but my love for him fluctuates like my heart beat.
There was somewhat of a commotion downstairs. I questioned myself, what could possibly be going on? So I went downstairs to find out what was going on for myself. Judging by the commotion, I knew something unappealing was coming my way. That âunappealingâ thought I had turned out to be my sister Josephine. She however, stood with a troubled and glum look as the beat of my heart slowly began to speed up.
I thought to myself, âWhy does she have a depressed look on her face?â Josephine then looked at me with the eyes of a sloth. âWhat brings you hear with sadness my sister?â I said. As Josephine talked, I saw my husbandâs acquaintance, Richards, standing by her. âYourâŠ.husband…IsâŠ.Dead.â she muttered hesitantly. Upon hearing this, I instantly wept into the arms of my sister. Slowly, but surely, I eventually calmed down. As I wiped my tears, I requested to be alone in my quarters. I dispiritedly trotted back up the stairs to my room with my heart beating in sync with my emotions.
I entered my quarters and immediately sat down on my armchair. The chair was very comfortable, as if it was drawing me deeper into its comfort; it felt like a seat of a royal horse drawn carriage. It felt like I was being brought more into the chair. This news I just received only recently, shocked me. The warmth of the chair was soothing and calming not only for my mind, but the beat of my heart.
The scenery was peaceful, the paragon of the spring season. Trees were blooming with new life while the spring rain was pleasurably redolent of that familiar scent. It was quiet here. So quiet, that I could faintly hear the sound someone singing from a distance and the sparrows chirping outside my window. I looked up; there was a serene blue sky filled with clouds that often collide with other incoming clouds to form larger clouds. At this point, my heart had settled down and I was calmed.
I was almost motionless; I shook periodically due to my sobbing. I felt like a sleeping newborn after crying for so long ; however, I felt calm. I exhausted all the stresses that broke me down. I looked away from the clouds thinking to myself, âIf my husband is gone doesnât this mean Iâm free to do whatever I please?â Once again, the beat of my heart slowly started to accelerate.
I immediately rose up and fell in the course of that action. âIâm now free.â I thought to myself. I stared at my hands and whispered, âFree, free, free!â I then wept again; however, this feeling was different. âAm I actually happy?â I wondered. After so many years of being confined by this one man, I had finally been released from my chains. I glanced at the sky and spread my arms wide open in happiness. I welcomed the face of freedom into soul. My heart pounded against my chest in such a way that warmed and relaxed every inch of my body.
I acknowledged would be alone. Nobody would be able to hold me back from doing as I please. There wouldnât be any strength in the world to chain me down and my actions. It felt like a crime to even think about something so distant. My eyes were opened with a flame that would ignite the path to the world I was about to enter. I began to look into my future as my heart raced with the excitement of a child.
I entered a world in I created. It was the utopia I have endlessly been dreaming about for such a long time. A world with no limits and burdens. It was the ideal world I wished for. I tranquilly walked around the empty house with my husband out of my sight. I then raced outside to be greeted by the nature of spring without restrictions to my autonomy. I leaped into the meadow where bright flowers surrounded me as the sparrows continue to chirp. I looked up to the clear blue sky that yielded a more definitive hue of blue than the ocean that surrounds the lands we walk on and thought, âthis is what true freedom looks like.â I slowly closed my eyes and snapped back to reality. My world, the real world, and now the beat of my heart now resonated as they begin to fuse.
I then heard the voice of Josephine behind the door. âLouis, open the door!â she stammered. âI beg; open the door! Youâll make yourself ill. What are you doing Louise? For heavens sake open the door!â âGo away. I am not making myself illâ I calmly told her. I was consumed by mu dream of the utopia I longed for. âFree! Body and soul free!â I murmured repeatedly. Spring days, Summer days, Fall nights, Winter nights. All of those would be mine. I help possession of my future days and nobody else had any authority over that. I prayed for a long life, which was something that I never couldâve hoped for in the past. With that prayer, my heart continued its acceleration.
I now stood up and proceeded to open the door where my sister was kneeling behind. I looked at her with the eyes of a soldier who came back from a victorious battle. I treaded towards her and clasped my sisterâs waste. With that, we proceeded to go back down the stairs. Freedom was the only thing on my mind. My heart raced faster than a Kentucky Saddler. The sight of Richards waiting for us at the bottom was the finish line. My heart raced faster and faster wanting to reach the line.
As we went down step by step, I heard the sound of a door opening. I look towards the source of the sound was coming from and I see the front door slowly open. A bright light quickly entered into the room through the door and slightly blinded my vision. I closed my eyes and opened them again only to see the brightness slowly fading away. There was a shadowy figure standing in front of me. âDonât tell me what I think it is.â I screamed in my mind, âNo no no no! My freedom! I felt the chains slowly come back for me and my heart raced even faster. My sense joy now turned into fear and confusion. As the shadowy figure came closer into visibiliy, my heart felt different. I felt weak and I begin to drop down, carrying my sister along with me. I heard a piercing scream that also brought my heart to a sudden stop. My eyes began to slowly close shut at the image of my husband, Brently Mallard. It was the joy that kills.
I think you did a wonderful job rewriting “The Story of an Hour” in first person autodigetic narration. This give us a much more in-depth look into what is going on in Mrs. Mallards head, and the reader can get a much stronger sense of her emotions.
In its original omniscient third-person narration form, we are privy to thoughts and actions of the antagonists. The rewritten version does a great job of letting us know all the information we need through Mrs. Mallards experiences.
I like how her heart becomes a larger prop in the story. In its original form we are told she has heart trouble at the beginning and she died of heart disease at the end. In the retelling, her heartbeat is used throughout the story to give us more insight into her emotional rollercoaster.
Overall, I think you did a great job, it was very well written and a very nice take on the story.
In your autodiegetic retelling of “The Story of an Hour,” you give a strong sense of Louise Mallard’s emotions, including her reaction to the realization that her husband is not dead. Throughout your retelling, you include a lot of I-statements, probably more than you need even though this is a first-person narrator. For example, you begin the third paragraph with an I-statement: “I thought to myself, ‘Why does she have a depressed look on her face?'” Instead, you could just narrate her thought, since it’s clear that any thoughts are hers unless otherwise attributed.
What are some of the comparisons you will make in Part 2? Certainly the difference in the meaning conveyed in the last line!