Discussion question: The Story of an Hour

The grief displayed by both Mrs. Mallard and Shalia Bhave ("The Management of Grief") compare in how they view their husbands' deaths. Both Mrs. Mallard and Shalia loved their husbands, but do not view their deaths as the "end." Both characters view their husbands' deaths as new found independances and as opportunites for their lives to grow. While it is definitely clear for Mrs. Mallard, after their husbands' deaths, both women seem to embrace life as if their husbands were holding them back. At the end of this story, Mrs. Mallard realizes that she now can take control of her own life and start living it that way that she wants. Throughout"The Management of Grief," Shalia seems like a strong character in the sense that she does not need a man to take care of her and "watch over her." Both of these womens' reactions could also be connected with the time periods. During the times these stories where published, some women where raised to beleive that one marries a man and he will take care of her; that she is somehow uncapable. After following their husbands all their lives, Louise (Mrs. Mallard) and Shalia are now responsible for their own lives and independant from them.

The point of view "The Story of an Hour" is told from greatly impacts how it is read and the grieving process. This story is told from an omniescent point of view. Instead of it being from a close "inside- look" first person view, this point of view provides readers with an overview; how someone observing these events would interpret them (not how it is experienced by the characters). In this story, we are told (not really shown) what Mrs. Mallard is going through. With this point of view, we not given insights into feelings or thoughts of the character. As a result, the grieving process could be different if it were based on Mrs. Mallard's views. An omniescent point of view in a short story leaves readers to intepret what has happened. While and after it is read, the reader creates numerous scenarios about the characters, meaning, and plot of the story.

Both of the settings of "The Story of an Hour" and "The Management of Grief" impact how the information in the stories is handled. In "The Story of an Hour," the setting is inside Mrs. Mallard's house. Inside her house, she can only look from her windows at the world in which she can now live. "The Mangement of Grief" has many settings: Shalia's house, the bay in Ireland where the plane crashed, the hospital to identify bodies, and Canada. In each of these stories, the settings are specific; in so many ways that the author could have been more specific about the actions that are partaking in in those places, their feelings towards those places, etc. Instead, the omniescent point of view of the stories handle the information given in a very broad sense; limited information is shown about the characters (it's told from one point of view!), and no information is provided on the feelings of these women. Had the point of view not been omniescent, it could have been simple to connect literary ideas with these settings.