The late 1800s were a time of repression for women. A woman was expected to conform to her husband's ideals and accept a life of his control. Even today, the relationship between men and women sometimes seems unequal. There is hardly ever an equal and fair relationship between a female and her spouse. Most of the time a man has a higher status than a woman does, whether it be in an occupation or in a household. In the short story "The Story of an Hour," we are shown an illustration of the idea of self-fulfillment. Conventional relationships have also been found to be very few and far between. The only relationship which seem to be found between a man and a woman today are those which are where only one loves the other, and no love is shown in return. "Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings" shows the different conventional relationships between a man and a woman, where through every different plot someone ends up dead due to the fact of a bad or uncooperative relationship.
             Kate Chopin employs the tool of irony in "The Story of an Hour," to illustrate the problem relative to marital relationships in which one individual imposes his "private will" upon the other. She presents, through the story of Mrs. Mallard, an issue not socially accepted at the end of the 19th century. This is the story of Mrs. Mallard; a woman with a heart condition who finds out her husband has died in a train accident. She reacts with sadness at first, but after seeking solitude, realizes she is free. "There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself." Louise is excited at the possibility to do what she wants for once, to make her own decisions, to appreciate the freedom that she has not previously experienced. She is ready to begin her new life when her husband, who was not involved in the train accident, comes home alive. The woman, Loui...