Reader-response theory focuses on the role of the reader in finding meaning in a text themselves. What experiences in your life parallel what happened in The Story of an Hour? Be sure to relate the story to a personal experience of your own.

Kate Chopin presents a situation in which the protagonist loses her husband, suffers immediately from grief that turns into relief, regains her husband, and then dies herself. Because the situation is so unique—not to mention the protagonist dies—it will be only be possible to identify with some of those experiences.
In some places, Chopin precisely describes Louise Mallard's emotions, but in other places the reader is left to infer what the action means. That is particularly true at the end when Louise utters a "piercing cry" before she dies. The reason for her sudden death is unclear; it could be from her physical ailment or her emotional overload—either from joy at seeing that her husband alive or from sorrow that her perceived liberation has ended.
The irony that Chopin creates is one area on which a student could draw on for an interpretation connected to their own life. Many people have found themselves in a situation in which their emotions run high based on the initial information provided only to find that this understanding is later challenged when new information becomes available. For a student, such a situation might relate to education.
For example, colleges sometimes mix up their application results and send acceptance letters to some students only to correct the error and rescind the offer. For another example, in the personal life of a student or their family members, an erroneous medical diagnosis may have occurred (e.g., a diagnosis of a terminal illness that the doctor later determines to be less serious).