Death is the natural phenomena that every human will experience. Because of its unique characteristics and consequence, humans instinctively fear it. Death is so powerful and unstoppable that no one can really resist it. In Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of An Hour," the protagonist sits on the chair and feels that "there [is] something coming to her and she [is] waiting for it (9th paragraph)." The "something" in fact refers to death, not freedom.
             Firstly, the author mentions in the first sentence that Mrs. Mallard's physical body is not healthy. Mrs. Mallard has "a heart trouble [and] great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death." This suggests that Mrs. Mallard is vulnerable to shocks so that her sister has to be very careful about anything that may hurt her or else her heart may fail. This reveals that Mrs. Mallard's heart trouble is considerably severe.
             In addition, Mrs. Mallard's body is revealing unhealthy signals. In the fourth paragraph, she "[sinks], pressed down by a physical exhaustion that [haunts] her body and [seems] to reach into her soul;" this shows that she is exhausted both physically and mentally. Furthermore, the author describes that "now there [is] a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze [is] fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It [is] not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought." The description reveals that Mrs. Mallard is experiencing a short period of pathological shock because of the oxygen lack in her brain result from her severe heart disease. She may not even notice these serious symptoms because she is still immersed into the joy from her husband's death.
             Some readers may think that the thing that is coming to Mrs. Mallard when she is resting on the chair is the freedom that she is waiting for after years of unhappy marriage. However, if one reads carefully into the author's sentences...