The Front Door

Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

But Richards was too late.

When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease — of joy that kills.

---VOCABULARY---

**afflicted with** — suffering from an illness or condition that one cannot easily escape

**veiled** — hidden; not said directly; a veiled hint suggests something without saying it clearly

**intelligence** — here used in an old sense meaning news or information

**to forestall** — to act quickly in order to prevent something from happening before someone else can do it

**abandonment** — a complete loss of control over one's feelings; acting freely without holding anything back

**aquiver** — trembling or shaking slightly; full of gentle movement

**a peddler** — a person who travels from place to place selling small goods in the street

**to bespeak** — to show or indicate something about a person's character or life (an old, literary word)

**repression** — the act of keeping feelings, desires, or thoughts under strict control; not allowing them to be expressed

**elusive** — difficult to describe, catch, or understand; always seeming to escape

**tumultuously** — in a wild, uncontrolled, and turbulent way

**exalted** — raised to a higher level; feeling or showing great happiness and a sense of importance

**self-assertion** — the act of expressing your own wishes, rights, and identity with confidence

**illumination** — a moment of sudden, clear understanding

**elixir of life** — a magical or powerful substance believed to give life and energy; used here as a metaphor for the feeling of freedom

**importunities** — repeated, urgent, and persistent requests or demands

**unwittingly** — without being aware of it; without intending to

**composedly** — in a calm and controlled manner, without showing emotion

---QUESTIONS---

**Chapter : The News** . Why did Josephine and Richards take great care in the way they told Louise the news? . How did Louise react when she heard about her husband's death? . What did Louise do after the first storm of grief had passed?

**Chapter : The Open Window** . What could Louise see and hear from her armchair by the window? . How does the author describe Louise's face and eyes as she sits in the chair? . What does it mean that her face showed "repression and even a certain strength"?

**Chapter : Something Coming** . What was Louise waiting for, and how did she first feel about it? . What word did she whisper to herself, and why is this surprising? . The author says Louise did not ask herself whether her joy was "monstrous." Why might this joy seem monstrous to her or to others?

**Chapter : The Long Years Ahead** . What did Louise imagine when she thought about the years ahead of her? . What does she mean when she says there will be "no powerful will bending hers"? . The author writes that Louise had loved her husband "sometimes" and "often had not." What does this tell us about their marriage?

**Chapter : The Closed Door** . What was Josephine doing outside the door, and why was she worried? . How did Louise feel as she finally opened the door and came out? . The author says she "carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory." What does this mean?

**Chapter : The Front Door** . What happened when Louise came downstairs? . The doctors said she died "of joy that kills." What do you think really killed her? . Why do you think the author chose to end the story in a single short sentence: "But Richards was too late"?