"The Story of An Hour," by Kate Chopin, is a story about a woman experiencing true freedom, through the death of her husband. The story deals with the limitations that were forced on women by society in the eighteen hundreds. When Louise found out her husband was dead she felt her life about to begin. She realized that suddenly she was free to live and think for herself. However, her life ended almost as quickly as her new life began when she saw her husband walk through the door. "The Story of An Hour" is an extraordinary story that shows the readers Chopin's point of view about marriage. Chopin states to her readers that marriage represses women and bends their spirit. The theme of the story is that hope and freedom can spring from the lifting of oppressive bindings. By graphic characterization, imagery, and setting the reader learned that even one hour of freedom is worth more than the "bending in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" (Chopin 340).
             The first paragraph of the story describes the way society of the eighteen hundreds perceived women. When Choplin introduces the character Mrs. Mallard, she describes her by stating, " . . . that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble" (340). In this way the reader is told that Mrs. Mallard is weak, as women were thought to be in this era. As the line continues the readers are also made aware of the opinion of women in this society. Chopin's opinion that women are thought of as frail, over emotional, and dependent upon their husbands, is expressed in these words, " . . . great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death" (340). The author illustrates that Mrs. Mallard " was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression..." (Chopin 340). This description seems to tell the reader that Mrs. Mal
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