Kate Chopin's Story of an hour and Raymond carver's Cathedral can easily be compared and contrasted. Marriage is a central theme in both works.
             In Kate Chopin's "Story of An Hour", Louise is not completely satisfied with her relationship with her husband Brently Mallard. Towards the Beginning of the story when Mrs. Mallard is informed of her husband's death, she grieves at first like any other widow would grieve over their dead husband, but then when she locks herself in her room, sits in that chair and begins to analyze the situation, she expresses a somewhat unexpected emotion. "When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips she said it over and over under her breath: "Free, free, free!"(Chopin, 34) This passage suggests that Mrs. Mallard has felt imprisoned within her marriage to her husband. Marriage is ideally supposed to be something that is celebrated. A wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion. For Mrs. Mallard the day she lost her freedom. In Mrs. Mallard's case marriage was her prison.
             Chopin does not present and considerable reason why Mrs. Mallard is so unhappy with her relationship with her husband. In fact Mrs. Mallard actually loved her husband. "And yet she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not." (34) Back then a man and a woman did not always marry because they were madly in love with each other, and wanted to pledge their love for each other in front of all of their family and friends. At that time it was expected. It was a way of life. At A certain age a woman was expected to get married. It didn't really matter to whom. Mrs. Mallard's misery had little to do with her husband. It was more related to the actual concept of marriage and what it meant during that particular time period.
             Mr. Mallard is dead and Louise is happy because she now feels like she can live. She feels like she can truly li...