Nelson Mandela once said, “Freedom cannot be achieved unless women are emancipated from all forms of oppression” . As true as this statement may seem, it is not original. The discussion of the oppressed woman had existed for more than a century before he uttered these iconic words. Many have put pen to paper in an attempt to express their frustrations with the repression of women, but few have done so as quickly and effectively as Kate Chopin. He did this with the help of many literary elements, including irony and imagery. In “The Story of an Hour,” Chopin uses both irony and imagery to convey the theme of freedom versus confinement. As the story begins to unfold, it becomes evident that the reader's expectations are about to be tested. It's quite a shock to see Mrs. Mallard be so excited to be free from her husband after his death. In most stories, love is considered the ultimate goal, but Mrs. Mallard thinks completely differently. “What can love, the unsolved mystery, count in the face of this possession of self-affirmation that he suddenly recognizes as the strongest impulse of his being!”. This captures the theme of freedom because she places more value on her own independence than on her love for her husband. Chopin uses detailed descriptions of Mrs. Mallard's feeling of freedom to truly capture how free she feels. The protagonist describes her sense of self as "drinking the elixir of life." The word elixir is often used in mystical stories as a means of displaying healing properties and is almost always used as a saving grace. Therefore, its use here makes the reader understand that freedom seemed to Mrs. Mallard that her husband's death was an antidote to her suffering. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The ending of the story is the most ironic part of the story due to Mrs. Mallard's untimely death. It is especially ironic that the protagonist dreamed of her new freedom and hoped for a long life only with a conviction before dying of a heart attack. "Her imagination ran wild in those days before her....she whispered a quick prayer that life might be long." This is a perfect example of the author's theme of imprisonment fighting freedom as its promise of freedom is very short-lived. It almost seems as if the cruel world never intended to free her and it seems that she will remain confined forever. After learning of her husband's death at the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard's movements are described by Chopin as particularly limited. When she goes to her room and sits down in the armchair, “she (sinks), crushed by a physical tiredness that haunted her body and seemed to reach her soul.” However, as the story comes to a close and she comes to terms with her newfound liberation, her moves are much more graceful. Mrs. Mallard rises “at last” with “a feverish triumph in her eyes… behaving) involuntarily like a goddess of Victory.” The stark difference in how Chopin chose to describe the protagonist's descent into the chair versus his ascent from it shows character development in just a few short paragraphs. Through the author's use of very different images, it is easy to identify the change in Mrs. Mallard's behavior. Although the concept of freedom and the concept of confinement are very opposite, Chopin demonstrates that they are destined to coexist. Because if there had never been any confinement, how could one grasp the idea of ​​being.