"When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease - of joy that kills"

This quote from Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour" is a metaphor for the pleasure and flexibility that Mrs. Mallard experiences when she discovers of her hubby's death. The medical professionals' medical diagnosis of "heart disease - of delight that eliminates" suggests that Mrs. Mallard's pleasure was so extreme that it overwhelmed her and triggered her death. This quote speaks to the power of delight and freedom, and how it can be both a blessing and a curse. It likewise speaks to the concept that sometimes the important things we desire the most can be the most unsafe. Mrs. Mallard's delight was so effective that it ultimately eliminated her, and this quote works as a suggestion of the fragility of life and the value of valuing the minutes of delight and flexibility that we experience.