The Women’s Freedom
Freedom is related to someone’s ability to freely determine action without any restraint.
Usually, there is a restriction of freedom in society, especially for women. According to
EmpowerWomen:
“Even though the right to freedom of movement is set out in Article 13 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, women in many parts of the world find that their mobility
is restricted – whether by legislation, by social or cultural norms, or by their communities’
toleration of threatening or even violent behavior towards them” (“Empower Women”).
The sentence emphasizes that most of the women cannot move freely in several aspects such as
society and even family. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin reflects the situation of the
restricted women’s freedom of movement. Based on her life background, Kate Chopin was a
feminist writer who observed the society in her era about women who sought independence. As a
result, the women who looked for liberty were uncommon at the time (Prahl). In the short story,
she depicts the emotion of a woman who does not has the freedom and experiences the repression.
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin encourages the readers to criticize the women’s freedom
in marriage through the main character, conflict, and style.
Firstly, the story has several characters to tell the tale and to help the reader understanding
the story. There are five characters namely Louise Mallard, Brently Mallard, Josephine, Richard,
and the doctors. The main character of the story is Louise Mallard as a protagonist. At the
beginning of paragraph one, which is the first sentence, Kate Chopin writes, “Knowing that Mrs.
Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible
the news of her husband's death” (1). From the sentence, it can be concluded that Louise Mallard
is a married woman and has a health problem of the heart. Mrs. Mallard is described as a wife
whose husband, Brently Mallard, is reported to be a victim of a railroad accident. Kate Chopin
writes, “She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of
grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her” (1). In
the sentences, after knowing the bad news, Louise locks herself in her room and does not allow
anyone to meet her even her sister named Josephine. “She did not stop to ask if it were or were not
a monstrous joy that held her” (Chopin 1). However, when she is afflicting alone in her room for
her husband's death, she suddenly feels happy with her current situation of being a widow. She
feels free from her husband's influence and she can do anything she wants independently
(LitCharts). She suddenly comes out of her sadness and appears as if she is grateful for her
husband's death. “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for
herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men
and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (Chopin 2).
According to Research Journal, “Louise is tired of her life because she was not free when one is
not free and is forced to suffer either spiritually or physically” (Karami and Zohdi 434). From the
sentence, it can be inferred that Louise suffered oppression when her husband was still alive. Kate
Chopin states, "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering” (1). By the word “free”, it shows
that by Brently’s death, she feels free to do anything she wants. After a moment of reflection, she
realizes that freedom has just received by her (Karami and Zohdi 434). According to PrepScholar,
“She uses Louise to criticize the oppressive and repressive nature of marriage, especially when
Louise rejoices in her newfound freedom (Robinson). From the statement, it indicates that Kate
Chopin wants to censure the suppressive nature of marriage through Louise Mallard’s character.
To build the readers’ emotions, Kate Chopin created two conflicts in the story. The first
conflict is the internal conflict that Mrs. Mallard opposes her feeling. “There was something
coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (Chopin 1). She is afraid of the happy feeling
that suddenly comes to her. Based on CCSE Journal, “Facing the unexpectedly bad news, she was
of course sad, however, at the same time she felt free, body and soul free” (Wan 1). In the
beginning, she is sorrowful about her husband’s death but after a moment she feels relief. Kate
Chopin writes, “She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her,
and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands
would have been” (1). From the quotation, Louise tries to deal with her complicated feeling that
sad and happy at the same time. According to Research Journal, “In particular, Louise overcomes
her limitations and attempts to continue her desires and she tries to capture her profound joy about
her new sense of life’s beauty” (Karami and Zohdi 432). As the solution of her internal conflict,
Louise attempts to realize her desire to welcome the freedom she received. Furthermore, the second
conflict is the external conflict that occurs between Mrs. Mallard and society. “There would be no
powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have
a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (Chopin 2). The sentence depicts what
happens in Louise’s family life during her marriage. She feels oppressed with Mr. Brently that
leads to she cannot express her own desires. Based on the literary article, “She was unhappy with
her husband; she couldn’t have her own opinion and couldn’t show her own will; that’s why she
is happy to be free!” (Dagenhart). She is trapped in her marriage and the patriarchal society. Thus,
she cannot create her identity in search of her self-defining decision. Kishor Paudel states, “The
assumption is that Mrs. Mallard needs to free herself from the patriarchal suppression in order to
enjoy her personal life. However, the existing social values and domination from her own husband
shatter her aspiration of living and enjoying in her personal world” (97).
Finally, Kate Chopin uses figurative language in her writing style to help the readers
understand the emotion of the story. The first figurative language is a simile which is “She did not
hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its
significance” (1). The word “as” shows the comparison between Louise and other women. The
way she responds to her husband's death is different from other women. According to Shmoop,
“The narrator says here that "many women" would respond with "paralyzed inability" but Mrs.
Mallard is unique in crying right away” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Secondly, she uses symbolism
by stating “She was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window” (2). According to
the Cambridge Dictionary, the word “open” means not limited (“OPEN”). From the definition, the
open window portrays a new life with the freedom that Louise never got before. Chopin describes
that the open window is leading Louise to a new life without any repression from another person
(Karami and Zohdi 433). Lastly, she exerts irony which is “When the doctors came, they said she
had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills” (2). Her joy is overwhelmed when she knows that
her husband has died but suddenly, she dies of the shock and disappointment because, in fact, her
husband is still alive. Moreover, it means that her newfound freedom is gone. Based on ThoughCo,
“It seems clear that her shock was not joy over her husband's survival, but rather distress over
losing her cherished, newfound freedom. And it was the removal of that intense joy that led to her
death” (Sustana).
In conclusion, by understanding the message in the short story, it can be concluded that
Kate Chopin wants to censure the women’s freedom in her era. There is a patriarchal society that
limits women’s movement; hence they cannot find her identity. Karami and Zohdi state,
“Louise’s marriage in the early twentieth century is a form of patriarchy that the woman is
subjugated to the patriarch’s power although she cannot improve her fulfillment and happiness as
a wife in the society” (432). The power of the patriarch does not give women the opportunity to
consider what will make them happy and to choose their own decisions. Kate Chopin reveals a
woman's feeling in the life of oppression in marriage and society. According to the United
Nations, “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of
each state” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Therefore, women must have the freedom
to move or to determine their own decision.
Work Cited
Dagenhart, Natalia. “Literary Analysis of ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin.” Website,
Website, 6 July 2020, https://nataliadagenhart.wixsite.com/website/singlepost/2017/09/13/Literary-analysis-of-%E2%80%9CThe-Story-of-an-Hour%E2%80%9Dby-Kate-Chopin.
“Empower Women - Freedom of Movement and Women's Economic Empowerment.”
EmpowerWomen, 1 Feb. 2016, www.empowerwomen.org/en/who-weare/news/2016/2/freedom-of-movement-and-womens-economic-empowerment.
Karami, Negin, and Esmaeil Zohdi. “Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour”: A Feminist
Interpretation”. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL). KY
Publications, vol 3.3, July-Sep. 2015, pp. 430-435.
LitCharts. “Louise Mallard Character Analysis.” LitCharts, 22 July 2020,
www.litcharts.com/lit/the-story-of-an-hour/characters/louise-mallard.
“OPEN: Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary,
www.dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/open.
Paudel, Kishor. “Existential Angst in Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour”. Nepal Commerce
Campus Journal, vol 4, no. 4, 2019, pp. 97-99.
Prahl, Amanda. “Biography of Kate Chopin, American Author and Protofeminist.” ThoughtCo, ,
www.thoughtco.com/kate-chopin-biography-4769943.
Robinson, Ashley. The Story of an Hour: Summary and Analysis, 9 Dec. 2019,
https://blog.prepscholar.com/kate-chopin-the-story-of-an-hour-summary.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “Character Clues in The Story of an Hour.” Shmoop, Shmoop
University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/story-of-hour/characterization.html.
Sustana, Catherine. “One Wife's Short-Lived Taste of Freedom: ‘The Story of an Hour.’”
ThoughtCo, 25 May 2019, www.thoughtco.com/analysis-story-of-an-hour-2990475.
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations,
www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.
Wan, Xuemei. “Kate Chopin’s View on Death and Freedom in The Story of an Hour”. Canadian
Center of Science and Education, vol. 2, no. 4, December 2019, pp. 167-170.