"The Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin, is about the importance of freedom of identity and the subservient role of women in society and personal relationships. The main character of the story, Louise Mallard, is trapped in a marriage with someone she doesn't love. She has no freedom and lives only for her husband.
             When her husband dies, it comes as a great shock to Louise and she goes through a "rapid sequence of reactions" (Deneau). She is at first upset, crying in a "storm of grief" (Chopin 326) before going to her room alone. In her room she begins to realize she is now free from the identity of her husband, free to live for only herself. After she accepts this freedom, she leaves the room, ready to face her new life, only to be shocked again by her husband, alive, walking through the door. This shock kills her.
             Symbolism plays a very large role in "The Story of an Hour." It is used extensively in the description of the happenings outside her window. "She could see ... the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air ... and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves" (Chopin 326). Spring is considered a time of renewal and rebirth. As Louise is witnessing all this, she is beginning to sense her newfound freedom, like she is becoming a new person. There is also symbolism in the window that she is looking out of. The room that she is in is her marriage and the window her escape, her husband's death. Outside the window is her new life just waiting for her. Sitting in the armchair, it's as if she is watching her possible future on a television screen.
             "The Story of an Hour" was written in 1894. During this time in America, "a woman judged herself and was judged by her husband, her neighbors, and society" (Wohlpart). It was even felt that women were not capable of thinking fo...