The role of women has changed greatly in society and is very different today than in the past. “Freedom” or “independence” is the familiar word for working women in today's world. Even if we talk about women's freedom, it does not mean that they can live independently; rather, it means that, at some point in their lives, when they go through difficult times, they should be quite ready to face them on their own. Women need adequate protection, social and economic development and their own identity. The word "woman" symbolizes strength, sacrifice, courage, commitment and love. Kate Chopin wrote this tale in the 19th century, when American society had a deeply ingrained idea that women were inferior and should remain dependent on their husbands and other male figures. Women were involved in household chores such as cooking, cleaning, raising children or doing laundry, etc. Their wages were lower than those earned by men. They had no financial independence and their assets or possessions passed from their fathers to their husbands upon marriage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Story of an Hour was published in 1884. It explores the idea of ​​women's emancipation from domestic compulsions. This article sheds light on Mr. and Mrs. Mallards. Kate Chopin's short stories present the plight and experience of a married woman at the turn of the century. The treatment of female characters in her stories is considered radical and oppositional, going against familiar ideas of feminism of the time. In the words of Simone Signoret, “Chains do not hold a marriage together. They are the threads, hundreds of tiny threads, that bind people together over the years.” The story is set in the home of the Mallards in the late 19th century, a time when women were confined to the home and often denied participation in social life; it was also the time when we fought for equal rights and, above all, for the right to vote. Men were expected to live a public life and socialize with like-minded men in public places such as clubs, meetings, or bars. On the other hand, women were usually expected to live their lives largely homebound. Even in their free time, very few women had the same educational opportunities. Domestic space is traditionally identified as women's space that defines and limits their potential for freedom. Home and family are patriarchal institutions that seek to deny women a voice and trap them in accepting the American dream of having a good husband, children, and a home. The world outside is man's sphere and he leaves the house to work outside, while the woman stays inside to manage the domestic sphere. This notion is defined by the scholar Alison Kemper as the "cult of domesticity", where the woman was the "angel of the home". The author sets the story at the beginning of the century to highlight the changes that were becoming visible: the breaking down of the rigid divisions of male and female spaces in society. Author Kate Chopin, like the character in her story, had experienced firsthand the chauvinist society of the time and had experienced the death of her husband at a young age. The resemblance between Kate Chopin and her heroine can only leave us wondering how much of this story is fiction and how much is personal experience. Indeed, the lives of Louise Mallard and Kate Chopin are very similar and ironic. Louise's life began when she realized that she could live for herself. During this“now” she felt true joy and freedom, but her life ended abruptly when her husband walked through the door. Like Mrs. Mallard, Chopin's writing career began after her husband's death. She wrote several collections of short stories, but when she began expressing her feminist views she was criticized, she walked through the door and her life as a writer was over. The background of the story gives us the idea of ​​what Mrs. Mallard's marriage meant to her. We see a picture of a wealthy young wife who seems to be very satisfied with her life. We also get the impression that she was deeply in love with her husband. The news of his death, brought by her sister and her husband Richards' friend, filled her with great grief: "She cried at once, with sudden, wild abandon, in her sister's arms." This was her first reaction, but, in fact, Louise reacted as most wives would react. After the first emotions she went to another room to be alone: ​​“There was, in front of the open window, a comfortable and spacious armchair. She sank into this, crushed by a physical tiredness that persecuted her body and seemed to reach her soul. These sentences illustrate how Louise had always felt about her marriage. The “comfortable and spacious armchair” was his own family life. Now we can conclude that in reality Mrs. Mallard was not very happy in her marriage. His life was like a duty: "the duty to marry." And then, when she realized that her husband was dead, her initial grief turned into extreme happiness. She felt free. She felt free from a “grey cloud” over her head that blocked the sunlight. It is clear that the shadow above her head was her husband's domain. Furthermore, Mrs. Mallard's happiness was caused by the vision of a new future. Louise felt she had no other life than marriage, but now she had the opportunity to start living in a different way. When she collapsed into the chair, she first felt a deep pain, then she felt the fatigue of everything around her; she finally realized she was free. "Free! Body and soul free!" she continued to whisper. Later, after accepting this new feeling, Louise began to feel comfortable with the idea of ​​living alone, and “her pulse beat fast, and the flowing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” ” Louise realized that happiness filled her, it didn't matter that this feeling followed a bad event. Of course she had not forgotten about her deceased husband. She remembered how affectionate he was to her and how much she would miss him, but she also thought about the years of liberation and the air of freedom she would no doubt enjoy. It was a confusing time for Louise. She knew she would enjoy her new life, but she had mixed feelings about Brently, her husband for her in the years to come; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will that could bend hers into that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will on another human being. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less like a crime as he looked at it in a brief moment of enlightenment. Filled with the feeling of happiness and the vision of a free life, Mrs. Mallard left the room. But just at that moment, when everything was going so well, disaster struck. Brently Mallard, who was supposed to be dead, entered the house. He re-entered Louise's world and ended his new life. Mrs. Mallard realized that all her dreams, all her visions and plans were ruined. At that moment the flash of reality hit his mind. He realized that he was back and everything would be fineforward the old fashioned way. The same “gray cloud” covered her and the particles of her broken dreams. Unfortunately, Louise could not tolerate her husband's return and collapsed due to a heart attack. As the doctors later said, it was joy that killed her. Unlike his wife, Brently grieved over his misfortune, even though he did not know that she had died as a result of his survival. “Freedom” – What a magic word! Each of us puts our own meaning into this small combination of letters. Sometimes we realize that we can do everything and give everything to be free from someone or something dominating us and influencing our life. The question of freedom, in fact, seems to be the most burning problem in family relationships. The cause of these difficulties lies in the husband's attitude towards his wife: he dominates her, shapes her lifestyle, makes her live for him instead of living for herself. Unfortunately, his wife accepts his behavior because she loves him and doesn't want to lose him. At the same time, the feeling of obedience to prevent divorce lives in her only at the beginning of their marriage. As the years pass, she becomes accustomed to the subordinate lifestyle that her husband has imposed on her. And after a while she discovers that she hates her lifestyle because she has dedicated her whole life to her husband and the only thing she wants is freedom. This amazing story clearly indicates how deeply Mrs. Mallard wanted her freedom, but there was a conflict between her life and death. He had his contemplation on life like love, marriage and freedom. But more than a hundred years ago it was not appropriate for a lady to have her own ideas against the established ones. The story suggests that Mrs. Mallard could have lived well if she had been a traditional woman, but she was not. Hearing the news, she was not alone with her sister and her husband's friend, Richard, but she felt alone. In real life, at that time, the social space was large, but for Mrs. Mallard so small. No one could share his thoughts which were free. Therefore, she closed the door getting rid of those who disturbed her thoughts even if they were her sister and her husband's friend, Richards. By examining Mrs. Mallard's psychological state, we may find that the emotional change is to be described as the development of an increasingly resistant barrier between the real external world and that which is most authentic to her experience, the internal world of her fantasies. Although deep in her heart there is a burning desire for female liberation and self-affirmation, and beneath her reserve lies a streak of romanticism and rebellion, she has no chance of freeing herself from what she evidently felt as repression or frustration, thus freeing her forces. that had remained dormant within her. Perhaps these are the reasons that cause her heart problems. Only when the news of her husband's sudden death was communicated to her did she breathe free and fresh air: her moment of vision, in which she understands herself and regains control of her life, is followed immediately by the arrival of her husband, Brently Mallard” who entered, a little stained from the journey, calmly carrying his bag and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident and didn't even know there had been one." Her death is described as a "joy that kills"; however it is the awareness that with the return of her husband she would lose any possibility of liberation that kill her. It is only in death that she is truly free from her husband. At the end of Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard seems to realize that it is impossible for her to keep both her spirit and her body free in traditional society suddenly, Mrs. Mallard gains eternal spiritual freedom, merging into the universe..