The central character that you will undoubtedly want to focus on and, indeed, the only character that we gain any real insight to, is that of Mrs. Mallard, who, in the two and a half pages of this excellent short story is the main focus of the tale. The very first sentence informs us that she is "afflicted with a heart trouble," which suggests that she is a fragile person, weak and not robust in her physical frame. However, the way that she greets the news of her husband's death immediately distinguished her from other women, as the author says: