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.Narrator
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.Narrator
She said it over and over under her breath: 'free, free, free!'Narrator
Free! Body and soul free!Mrs. Mallard
Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.Narrator
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.Narrator
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.Narrator
A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime....Narrator
And yet she loved him - sometimes. Often she did not.Narrator
Turning, she thrust her face, steaming and wet, into the snow.Narrator
When the doctors came they said she died of heart disease - of the joy that kills.Narrator