The Story of an Hour

I thought that this was a great short story Because of how they introduced her heart problem at the beginning and then subtly hinted to it at the end.  What surprised me the most about this short story was how at the beginning, Mrs. Mallard seemed sad that Mr. Mallard was dead but then it almost seemed like she erupted in a volcano of happiness.  It was quite a fitting ending for her to believe that without her husband there would be years of freedom to come only to see him, and die (losing those years of freedom due to death and the husband) due to the shock and disappointment of realizing that her husband has come back, and that the prospect of living free is apparent no more.  Notice how at the end she dies of heart disease, an aspect of this story for which I applaud the author.  Very subtle.