Kate Chopin This short story by Kate Chopin presents the roller-coaster of emotions experienced by the main protagonist, Louise Mallard, during the hour following news of her husband's death. Originally, The Story of an Hour was published in Vogue magazine in 1894, before being reprinted in St. Louis Life in January the following year. Reading time: 5 minutes The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin (1894) 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. It 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 tel...