Setting exists on every from of fiction, representing elements of time, place and social context throughout the work. These elements can create particular moods, character qualities, or features of theme. Throughout Kate Chopin's story "The Story of an Hour" differing amounts and types of setting are revealed as the plot develops. This story deals with a young woman's emotional state as she discovers her own independence in her husband's death then her "tragic" discovery that he is actually alive. The constituents of setting uncover certain characteristics about the main character, Louise Mallard, and are functionally important to the story structure. The entire action takes place in the springtime of a year in the 1890's, the timeframe of about an hour, in a house belonging to the Mallards. All of these aspects of setting become extremely relevant and significant as the meaning of the story unfolds.
             When Louise Mallard first hears that her husband was killed in a railroad accident, "she wept at once," and "went away to her room alone"(14). As she mourns, looking out her window on the second floor of her home, a sudden change of heart begins to come over her. She notices "the delicious breath of rain," "a peddler...crying his wares," "notes of a distant song," "countless sparrows twittering, and patches of blue sky," "an aquiver with the new spring life"(15). As she stares at the sky, she begins to think about her newfound independence from her husband, uttering the words "free, free, free!"(15) Spring has always been a time for revival and renewal, as flowers bloom, animals awaken from winter hibernation, and sudden spring showers cleanse the earth and air. The "breath of rain" seems to cleanse Louise as well, as she views this as a way to start her life afresh. In this story,
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