Story of an Hour

Although short, "Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin portrayed a very well-described message to the readers about just how opressed the women of that particular era actually were, well, after a few times of reading it. Once the gears started turning, and after reading the information regarding the setting of the story, the message sent was quite blunt; women were opressed during this era, and Mrs. Mallard finally got her breath of fresh air.

Something hit her while looking out that window in paragraph 5. As she looked out upon the scenery, somber and depressed, she began to notice that the shackles of marriage were unlocked from her; she was no longer held down by a more significant figure. Of Course Mr. Mallard wasn't abusive or anything of that nature, but there was such a hierarchy during this time, and since Mr. Mallard was gone, she could live life as she truly wanted. An excerpt from paragraph 14, which states "There would be no one to live for these coming years; she would live for herself." (Chopin, 1894) emphasises this point.

There is much imagery that could be noticed within paragraph 5 that relates to her situation. She is looking out whe window and catching every detail, as well as noticing just how much there is out there. The symbolism of the scenic view out the window also relates to her situation; she's there, to witness the freedom of life, with no opression or boundaries that accompany the hierarchy of men. Of course she was still saddened by the trajedy, but no human is apt to sacrifice freedom for happiness, in some ways, freedom and happiness are conjoined.