Text III
The Dream of an Hour
Kate Chopin (1894)
Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.
It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message. She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with
the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the 1
street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under the breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body. She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.
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She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of 3
Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.
Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.
Notes:
1. Kate Chopin (1851-1904) was an American writer born in St. Louis, USA. “The Dream of an Hour” appeared originally in Vogue magazine in 1894. Kate Chopin’s stories were frequently published in such leading periodicals as the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s and Century, and were subsequently collected in Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadia (1897).
2. to break to here as gently as possible the news of : to try to be as gentle as they can in revealing the news of her husband’s death so as not to give her a great shock.
3. intelligence: information
4. He had only taken the time to assure himself … less tender friend in bearing the sad message: He wasted no time sending a second message to confirm the news. And immediately, he made an effort to be the first to inform Mrs. Mallard in case his less careful, less tender friends would go and tell her before him.
5. to accept its significance: to accept the meaning and the truth of the message
6. She wept at once, with … wild abandonment: She started crying right away, giving herself up completely to her emotions.
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7. When the storm of grief had spent itself …: When she wore herself out with crying.
8. the tops of trees were all aquiver with new spring life: The tops of trees were alive with new life, such as new buds, leaves and birds.
9. whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength: The wrinkles on her face showed that she was brave and was able to control her feelings as before.
10. whose gaze was fixed away off yonder: She was staring at something far off in the distance
11. not a glance of reflection: (such a glance) didn’t show that she was deep in thought.
12. a suspension of intelligent thought: (The mind) stopped working in an intelligent manner; she stopped thinking in order to understand what had happened.
13. to possess her: to control her; to hold her in its power
14. the coursing blood: the blood flowing through her veins
15. a clear and exalted perception: (She suddenly) realized the blessing of this, which meant freedom for her.
16. to dismiss the suggestion as trivial: to dismiss the question (i.e. whether or not her joy was monstrous) as not important
17. the face that had never looked save with love upon her: Her husband’s face had always expressed love for her. Save here means except, a formal use.
18. There would be no powerful will bending hers … upon a fellow-creature: She would then be able to have her own free will. When her husband was alive, he probably often imposed his will upon hers. And she accepted this kind of life because of the unquestioned belief that husband and wife could force their will on each other.
19. a kind intention or a cruel intention … not less a crime: The imposition of one’s will upon another was criminal act, whether it was done out of kindness or cruelty. She realized then that her husband’s forcing will upon hers was a crime.
20. What could love … in the face of this possession of self-assertion: What value could love (which was a mystery to her) have, when it was confronted with her 5
new-found freedom? Count for: (here) stand for (value or importance); in the face of: when confronted with. This shows that she felt a strong desire to assert her own will.
21. she was drinking in a very elixir of life: She was breathing in something which would make her happy.
22. Her fancy was running riot: Her imagination was running wild.
23. and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory: She walked triumphantly as if she had won a battle although she did not mean to behave like that.
24. a little travel-stained: (Mr. Mallard looked) a little tired and dusty with journey.
Exercises
Fill out each blank with a word from the text which is closest in meaning to the words or expressions in the brackets.
1. The drizzle and mist made the distant lighthouse on ___________ sight. (difficult to see clearly)
2. Acid rain, greenhouse effect, frequent floods and droughts ______________ our deteriorating environment caused by man’s reckless interference with nature. (indicate)
3. At day break the city was ___________ in the slumbering morning mist. (covered, masked)
4. When he appeared in the court as a witness, the security guard ______________ reconstructed the scene of the murder. (calmly, in a self-controlled manner)
5. The news that their national team won the World Cup in the finals threw France in an _________ mood. (full of joy and happiness)
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6. In the great cavern no sound could be heard __________ water dripping from
the dome. (except)
7. The two parties reached an agreement in the last minute, thereby ___________
a political crisis in the coalition government. (preventing)
8. Many educators believe that children’s ________________ is largely
nourished by appropriate encouragement from their teachers and parents.
(confidence)
Fill out the blanks with appropriate words or expressions from the following list.
impose on/afflict with/count for /strive to do …/implore for/die of /abandon oneself (to) …
1. Every year the United Nations provides emergency aid to countries that are
suffering from famine.
2. Facing the competitive market, the company is making a great effort to update
its products.
3. Many local government departments collect fees of different kinds on local
businesses.
4. Most manufacturers and marketing experts admit that package design is of
great importance in promoting sales.
5. Finally, she wrote to the President, begging him to intervene in the situation.
6. The brilliant young athlete Joyce died suddenly in her home one night due to
epilepsy.
7. The lady was completely lost in her profound grief of losing her child in the
accident.
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