The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

While reading “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin I noticed that after Mrs. Mallard found out her husband died, she kept on repeating the phrase “free” or “body and soul free”. I also noticed that the main character was only referred to by her first name after she found out her husband had died, and once he returned she was once again referred to as Mrs. Mallard. There was a clear reference to spring and renewal towards the middle of the first page with the lines “new spring life” and “patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds” which hinted that she was more optimistic than sad about her husband’s passing. These details made me think that this story is mainly about the freedom and independence that women have without men, and the oppression they sometimes feel when they are shackled to a man. With the many references to her self-assertion and “monstrous joy” she felt I assumed that she was very unhappy in her marriage. Given the time period I think that at the end when her husband returned and the doctors said she died of “joy that kills” the author was referring to how everyone wanted to assume she felt and not her actual feelings, because in that time it was unheard of for a woman to admit how unhappy she really was.