Essay on the Search for Freedom in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour

Search for Freedom in The Story of an Hour  Ã‚      In the early 1900s, marriage was comparable to a master-and-slave relationship.   The role of the woman in the marriage was minimal.   The woman’s place was in the house, caring for the children, cleaning the house, and doing other â€Å"womanly† tasks.   Chained to their husbands, marriage became prison to many women; the only means of breaking free from these bonds being the death of a husband.   In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† Mrs. Mallard lives for an hour, experiencing rebirth into freedom and death when that freedom is lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While sitting downstairs, Mrs. Mallard grieves over the loss of her husband, and over her new-found freedom.   His death tears out everything from right underneath her very own feet.   Dependent and heartbroken, everything she relies on her husband for has now become her responsibility.   Weeping â€Å"with sudden, wild abandonment†¦.,† Mrs. Mallard allows her emotions over her husband’s death to flow freely, thus...