Freedom And Freedom In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

Freedom and restraint are the backbones of the astounding short story, ¨The Story of an Hour.¨ Early in the 19th century, a young woman named Louise Mallard encounters the traditional gender restrictions set by the male-oriented society. After the unexpected news of her spouse’s death, she began to experience the true meaning of freedom. Throughout time, duties and responsibilities were defined by people’s social standards. While men were deemed as rational and superior, women were characterized as physically and intellectually inferior to men. Women followed the system of the “Cult of Domesticity,” where the role of a woman was to tend and fulfill her husband’s needs and domestic affairs. The only source of power a female had was at home,

Through feminist movements, writings, and opposition to the social norms, changes began to evolve in the stereotypical gender roles within the institution of marriage defined by society. In the “Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses the death of Brently Mallard to demonstrate the transition from restraint to independence by exposing the Mallard’s marriage through imagery and symbolism to redefine the roles in society.

The imagery displayed by Chopin illustrates the topics of captivity and freedom. As the news of her husband 's demise approached, Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with grief. She was devastated with an “inability to accept its significance[...], [her] gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky”(Chopin). Chopin implies that women were held to a standard of stupidity and were expected to exhibit the traits of high morals and emotions. Any “sudden” change in one’s lifestyle

Louise and her conflict in society represents the society 's notion of women created by male dominance. Mrs. Mallard was the representative of all women during the 1800s. She displayed resistance and the desire for an equal society, where women were not submissive to men, where they were treated as humans, and not property. Women were demoted by society and they did not want to be treated as insignificant or subservient to the opposing sex. Another symbolic matter was Mrs.Mallard 's heart condition. Louise’s heart troubles portrays emotional distress from being in a bias environment. Her agony comes from being enclosed in an oppressive marriage. As a result of her husband’s death, she experienced a sense euphoria in her new-found freedom. Her husband’s passing signified the termination of the patriarchy. At first, she feared the “wild sudden abandonment,” then she realized her endless opportunities. Through the open window in which Louise gazes from, Chopin depicts the freedom anticipated for her. From birds singing to a peddler crying, she “could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life”(Chopin). Mrs. Mallard showed sentiments of joy and tranquility due to her optimism for the future. This season symbolizes the renewal of an object; therefore, the spring indicates the rebirth of Louise’s identity. Finally she could see clearly, from a