Is this a villain or a victim?

Question

In 'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin, is the main character a villain or a victim? State 3 reasons and provide the evidence.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

the main character was Louise Mallard .....the story takes place in an hour.....a young wife with a heart condition hears that her husband died in a train wreck....after her initial reaction of hysterical crying she goes to her room to compose herself and she starts to realize that she is free to live her life on her own now.....a feeling she enjoys so much that her grief over losing her husband is gone even though she feels guilty knowing her husband loved her.....she goes back down stairs just as her husband walks through the door unharmed ( his name had been mistakenly placed on the list of people who died ) ......she has a heart attack when she sees him because of the shock....everybody assumes that it was because she was so HAPPY to see her husband alive.....but the reader knows the real reason

there are conflicting takes on this story so there is no wrong answer.....if you feel she was a villain to betray her husband's memory and not to have loved him etc then that is your answer

if you feel she was a victim of her age where women had to marry men they didn't love so they could survive and had to give up their independence then that is your answer......it depends on your perception

Answer 2

she's no villain, she hasn't done anything wrong. Her husband has been taken from her. Even though she feels freed from her marriage, she is still a victim.