The image is startling: a grieving widow looks out the window and smiles with hope in her eyes and the sound of sparrows in her ears. While she does feel the loss of her husband, this loss is overshadowed by the realization that she can start a new and independent life, and this makes her feel extremely exalted. In the short story, "Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin shows Mrs. Mallard looking out her open window, seeing new horizons before her, sensing victory within her grasp, and a promise of an unlimited future. The author portrays a setting of bright springtime images to show that Mrs. Mallard felt free after the news of her husband. On the surface, she seemed sad, but Chopin shows a woman who rejoices in her freedom. By doing this, the author illustrates how with the death of a spouse, people can find their own identity and experience something normally tragic.
             Springtime imagery gives a sense of renewal that underlines the author's idea that Mrs. Mallard is on a journey to a new life. This idea of new life means that Mrs. Mallard's life would "belong to her absolutely" and she would have "no one to live for." Before the death of her husband, Mrs. Mallard had felt that she was living for somebody else, doing things for somebody else, and belonging to somebody else, her husband. Her husband's death marked the beginning of a new life. It is as though it was springtime again and "the delicious breath of rain was in the air." Although Mrs. Mallard grieves for the death of her husband, she is unable to overcome the feeling of happiness as she looks outside the window and senses the freshness of new springtime life. Mrs. Mallard views this springtime revival as something that she can do with her life, she can revive herself. She is no longer bound by her husband's "powerful will" or "blind persistence" she is free to do as she wished. So she dra...