Story Of An Hour Independence

Kate Chopin wrote the short story “The Story of an Hour” in the late nineteenth century. The main character, Mrs. Mallard, is a representation of all of the women of that time. Although they may be in relationships where their husbands treat them well, it is not enough. All a woman wants is her freedom and independence. A woman wants to do as she pleases and not be dependent on her husband or her family. This is why Mrs. Mallard was actually more delighted than devastated when she heard the news of her husband being killed in a train accident. The news of her husband’s death “brings tears of release rather than of grief” (Harris). The theme of this short story is freedom and independence but at a cost. There are many shocking turns of events

Mallard also found independence in her husband’s death. With her husband being dead, Mrs. Mallard does not have anyone that she has to depend on anymore. This is why Mrs. Mallard was surprisingly happy to hear of Mr. Mallard’s death. She now no longer has to rely on a man or anyone else. She could finally be the independent woman she wanted to be. It states in the short story that “there would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (Chopin 237). Mrs. Mallard had felt tied up and restricted in her marriage and had finally been able to breathe with her husband passing away. Another author mentions that “the text indicates that Louise’s life is extremely restricted because of her domestic confinement and also suggests that she must have been secretly yearning for a life of her own” (Mavis Chia-Chieh). With her newfound independence, she has nothing and no one holding her back. This ties back to theme of finding freedom and independence but at a cost because her husband had to die for Mrs. Mallard to gain control over her

Mrs. Mallard’s husband was actually alive at the door and apparently “had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one” (Chopin 238). The false news of his death stripped Mrs. Mallard’s freedom and independence from her. Mrs. Mallard’s hopes and dreams were shattered, and she is once again a wife (Rosenblum). When Mrs. Mallard encounters her husband, who is actually alive right in front of her, it quite literally kills her; as soon as her husband arrives, she dies of a heart attack. This short story finishes with an ironic turn of events. Mrs. Mallard went through a “roller coaster ride” to get to the moment of her death, escaping her marriage with Mr. Mallard once again. This reaction ties back to the theme because although her freedom and independence was taken away from, her own death gave it back to her. She had to die in order to actually be free from her husband and their