Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" altered the way in which women were perceived in 19th Century America and Europe. Although it is short, "The Story of an Hour" sent out a very radical message for its time, critiquing the way in which women were treated. This story unveils the true way in which many women viewed the Male-dominated society in the late 1800's. According to Mrs. Mallard's reaction to the news of her husband's death, her true desire in life was not to love and serve her husband but to be free and able to make her own decisions. This kind of thinking was taboo and radical for her time period. But the message in this short story just threw gasoline on a flame that was already burning, because many women already thought this way and were fed up with being treated unequal to men. Historical contexts brings new meaning and significance to Mrs. Mallard's reaction to the news of her husband's death as well as his sudden reappearance in Chopin's "The Story of an Hour."

Kate Chopin was a very influential feminist author of her time. She grew up in late 19th century St. Louis, Missouri. (Versatile) In this period of America this idea of equality was first starting to arise. This idea of freedom started with the abolishing of slavery, and then transitioned into pushing equal rights for all men and women both in the court of law and in social recognition of significance. Women were not treated fairly, because they weren't given the same rights as men and socially were treated as lesser. This was due to idea of "The Cult of True Womanhood" which defined gender roles in that time period. Chopin in particular had great reason to disagree with the limited roles women were placed into by society. After the death of her husband, she had to take care of six children by herself. Chopin was a very strong independent woman, who thought this cultural idea of the "Cult of True Womanhood" was absurd. "The Cult of True Womanhood sought to assert that womanly virtue resided in piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity."(Welter 1) This idea ruled over women in society by constricting their lives in the 19th century and Chopin abhorred its effects. Woman were "Slaves of the Patriarchal society" (Sumer 192) Her strong resolve to abolish this old idea of the "True Cult of Womanhood" led Chopin to write "The Story of an Hour." 

In "The Story of an Hour" Chopin revealed the thoughts and desires of a woman in late 19th Century America through Mrs. Mallard's reaction to the news of her husband's sudden death and reappearance within an hour.  She doesn't react to the news of her husband's death like society would expect her to. Society would have expected her to take the news "with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance" (Chopin 223), turn to her friends and male figures in her life for comfort in her time of need, and mourn for weeks over her loss. This suggests that society thought of woman as week, fragile and less intelligent beings. However, instead of turning to her friends for comfort, she goes to her room by herself to process what just happened. This act gives insight to Mrs. Mallard's independent character.  At first, she "wept all at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms" (Chopin 223), however after going to her room to spend some alone time gazing out her window and processing the sudden death of her husband, she comes to a rather unsettling conclusion. Even though she said she had "loved him sometimes" (Chopin 224) to her, freedom was more important than love. She was overwhelmed with the realization that she was free to live for herself. Her reaction it can be determined  that she was not meant to be tied down in marriage, but allowed to be free and make her own decisions. She was only married because that was what was expected of her in society and was not happy with the way society was limiting her. Chopin is critiquing the institution of marriage by showing that both sides should want to marry and should have equal rights and say so. Marriage should not be dominated by one side, but an agreement made by two equal individuals. Marriage is not for everyone and Mrs. Mallard was a good example of a person who needed to live life for herself rather than for her husband. 

The story emphasizes the name of the main character. It starts out by referring to her as Mrs. Mallard, thus stressing the fact that her marriage to Mr. Mallard is what defines her. The name Mallard even refers to a species of ducks in which the male is very colorful and dominant and the female is dull colored and submissive. (Sumer 193) After she hears the news of her husband's death, she is called by her first name for the first time in the story signifying the fact that since her husband is death, she no longer has to live under his shadow but can "live for herself" (Chopin, 224) She is no longer Mrs. Mallard, but Louis. Her newly found feeling of freedom overcame her and she felt this sense of forbidden joy, because she was tired of conforming to society's expectation of women and wanted to be free. After taking a moment to contemplate what had just happened she has a moment of clarity in the fact that now that her husband is dead, she no longer has to live "under his shadow". She can be her own person and that is what she had wanted all along. She rejects the comfort offered by her peers and seeks solitude. She does not react in the way in which society wants her to, but in the way she truly feels. The open window in the room she is in symbolizes the new life in which Louise has just been given. It symbolizes an awakening within her now that she will finally be free of the bending will of her husband. Louise then realizes the two conflicting feelings within her. On one hand she is sad that her husband had died because "she had loved him- sometimes" (224), but at the same time she was joyful to finally be free from control. In the end, Louise determines that freedom was more important to her than love. When Louise finally walks down, she feels like a "goddess of victory", but then in an ironic twist her husband walks through the door, and Louise dies of heart failure. She died at the realization that she would never be free after all.

Kate Chopin saw the oppression that women were under and wanted to relay that message through her short story "The Story of an Hour." Chopin wanted women to be considered equal to men in society, which was considered a new and radical motive in 19th century America and Europe.  In order to send a message to the people of this time period, "The Story of an Hour" unearthed the real thoughts of a woman living in that time period by showing her reaction to the news of her husband's death and then sudden reappearance. 

