Freedom in “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard’s overwhelming response of “free, free, free!” upon hearing of her husband’s death reflects the attitude of many nineteenth century women. During this time, highly restrictive gender roles forbade women to live as they saw fit. In “The Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin allows her audience to envision the moment that Mrs. Mallard is able to shed the bondage of marriage that was forced …showed first 75 words of 1000 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1000 total…her weak heart could not handle. The arrival of her husband who was the cause of her new-found freedom caused her death. Mrs. Mallard’s death could be seen as the ultimate freedom from her unhappy marriage. Though her life ends in an extremely ironic manner, Mrs. Mallard does in fact finally escape the restrictions of her old life, not merely upon the hour before Brently Mallard’s arrival but in the end for eternity.