Question

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.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too, near her. It 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.%0D%0A%0D%0AShe did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild 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.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere 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.%0D%0A%0D%0A1 of 2%0D%0AQuestion%0D%0AUse the passage from “The Story of an Hour” to answer the question.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhich phrase describes a theme suggested by the details in the passage?%0D%0A%0D%0A(1 point)%0D%0AResponses%0D%0A%0D%0Ahuman versus nature%0D%0Ahuman versus nature%0D%0A%0D%0Ahiding the true self%0D%0Ahiding the true self%0D%0A%0D%0Aloss of innocence%0D%0Aloss of innocence%0D%0A%0D%0Acoming of age%0D%0Acoming of age

Answer 1

The phrase that best describes a theme suggested by the details in the passage is "hiding the true self." In this excerpt, Mrs. Mallard is initially overwhelmed with grief upon hearing of her husband's death, but the narrative hints at deeper emotions and complexities regarding her identity and feelings of freedom that come into play later in the story. Her response to the news may begin with sorrow, but it also sets the stage for the exploration of her true self and desires, which are often concealed beneath societal expectations.