Marriage laws that were in place in the 19th century, are considered by many people today to be strict and harsh. Marriage for many women during this time period was like receiving a life sentence; they were stripped of their rights and usually mistreated. Married women during the 1800’s were essentially on lockdown with little chance at escaping, even if they were mistreated. The expectations for wives during this period was to cook, clean and have kids. Women had virtually no rights before they got married, but once they did, they were robbed of even more basic human rights. “The Story of an Hour” and displays the historical context of what marriage was like for women in America during the 19th century. Mrs. Mallard however, would at least initially receive some sympathy from an overwhelming majority of readers. This story gives readers insight into the mind of a woman during this time period in America and shows how much women were being controlled by men and had no real and true freedom. In Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” Louise Mallard, the wife of Brently Mallard, is subject to this era of marital imprisonment of women and is only able to experience freedom after the death of her husband. Mrs. Mallard’s elation ensuing her husband’s death may cause reader’s to be unsympathetic without any knowledge of the story’s context. 

Timothy Crumrin, an author and historian at ConnerPrairie.org, had this to say about married women in the 19th century, “A woman’s gender and marital status were the primary determinants of her legal standing in Indiana and much of America from 1800 to 1850. By custom and law, she did not enjoy all of the rights of citizenship. In the legal realm women were decidedly dependent, subservient, and unequal” (Crumrin). 

A significant element of this time period during the 19th century was the marriage laws that women had to endure when they were with their male counterparts. The common law tradition in America at this time considered women almost as “perpetual juveniles” (Crumrin). Women were considered to be incapable of doing things that men could do. They were often thought to be incompetent. Married women were confined to the their husbands will. Common laws during this time frame laid down only a few restrictions and constraints on women who weren’t married. The married women, however, were chained by the decisions of the husbands. It was literally “his way or the highway.” Anytime a woman got married she basically forfeited everything she owned, including land and property, over to her husband. This more than likely, although not proven, had been the case for Mrs. Mallard. Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard after the discovery of her husband’s death in the story:

There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. 

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. 

There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window. She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke a repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought (Chopin).

Here we find Mrs. Mallard staring and gazing out of her bedroom window; it’s almost as if she’s daydreaming. This scene in the story could serve as a representation of the feelings of many women about their husbands during this time period. Chopin uses the vivid and detailed description of what is going on outside of the window to show how Mrs. Mallard suddenly realizes that she is free from her husband’s vice grip on her life. When Chopin talks about the “blue patches of sky,” she paints a picture of optimism and hope that Mrs. Mallard happened to be experiencing (Chopin). In all seriousness, the way Mrs. Mallard reacted to her husband’s death, might be indicative of how a lot of women that were married during the 19th century would’ve reacted to the death of their spouse because of the laws and roles that they were subjected to as wives. As a reader you get a sense that Mrs. Mallard feels as if a huge load has been lifted on of her chest. You could compare the feeling of being a married woman in the 19th century to having the weight of the weight of the world on their shoulders. 

At least initially during the beginning of the story, Chopin is able to garner some sympathy for Mrs. Mallard right off the bat with the opening line, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin). This is important because it opens the audience up to the viewpoint of the married woman during this time period and hopefully inspires others to strive for equality. Mark Cunningham, author of the literary journal review entitled, The Autonomous Female Self and the Death of Louise Mallard in Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour," had a couple of interesting and insightful points on Mrs. Mallard’s experience during the story as a married woman (Cunningham "The Autonomous Female Self And The Death Of Louise Mallard In Kate Chopin's "Story Of An Hour"). Cunningham talks about how Chopin specifically focuses a great amount of attention to detail on two areas of Mrs. Mallard’s experience. One is the strain that is placed on her physical system caused by the various shocks and the other strain is her spiritual outlook as she struggles to fully comprehend the freedom that has been seemingly bestowed upon her after the so called death of her husband (Cunningham "The Autonomous Female Self And The Death Of Louise Mallard In Kate Chopin's "Story Of An Hour”). The experiences that Cunningham talks about also show how difficult it must’ve been for the wives at this time period because Mrs. Mallard isn’t quite able to get a grasp on the fact that she’s free from her husband. Most women who loved their husband would probably have still been grieving within the hour but the fact that Mrs. Mallard is so distraught at the thought of her freedom gives us as readers something extra to think about. Mrs. Mallard’s unusual behavior suggest that maybe most women in the 19th century were relatively shocked at the concept of actual freedom. Of course most probably didn’t have to deal with this exact situation but Mrs. Mallard’s understanding of her freedom within a relatively short time after her husband’s death displays just how much the wives were victims of marriage laws and the society during this time.

The constricting and binding marriage laws of the 19th century are mostly a taboo in today’s American society. However, in the 19th century, marriage laws were harsh and cruel to women, almost making them seem to be worth nothing. In reading Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” it was found that this short story embodied what life was like for the married woman of the 19th century America; restricted, confined and diminished. 

 