Chopin

By contrasting images of life with those of death throughout “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin highlights the struggle of a person imprisoned by societal pressures and thereby kept from fully being alive.  The author made us aware of life and death as Mrs. Mallard sat in the room alone after hearing her husband’s death alive in her senses “seeing the open square”, “new spring life”, hearing distant song notes reaching her faintly, “patches of blue sky” creeping out of the sky.  Then the author highlighted the struggle of transforming from Mrs. Mallard to Louise when she said she is “free” with the “look of terror followed it” but her “pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” allowing herself to make peace with her conflict and live her life.  Furthermore, Chopin also referred to the marriage as “bitter moment”, and there “would be no powerful will bending hers” referring to the imprisonment of marriage due to societal pressure that kept her from fully being alive.