In Kate Chopin's, The Story of An Hour, there is much symbolism used. The whole story is full of symbolism as are many of Chopin's other stories. Louise Mallard had a totally different view on her husband, Brently's, death than did any other character in the story. The whole thing is one big irony. From the very beginning, there is foreshadowing that something is going to happen because the very first words about Louise Mallard are that it is known that she has a heart condition. This is symbolizing that she is bound to her current situation. She is being oppressed by her husband, as many women of the time were. Although it appears that she loves Brently, she admits that some of the time she doesn't. This is not to say that he wasn't a good husband or she wasn't a good wife, but that they were not as in love as everyone else may have thought they were. It was for this reason that Richard's wanted to come break it to her himself so that she d
idn't have a major heart complication. This whole scenario takes place to show that something is going to happen in the story. It doesn't at this point show any signs of freedom, but as we find out later in the story, the theme turns to freedom.(Chopin Lit. #19) As soon as Mrs. Mallard found out about the incident, she wanted to be alone in her room to grieve. Only, the longer she thought about it, the more she realized that this may be for the better. As she realized what had really happened, she noticed symbols of beauty and freedom outside her window. The book talks about the trees and the sunshine. It also states that she took in breaths of the rain in the air.(Chopin Lit. #20) This is all symbolism of her newly found freedom. She even started saying to herself that she felt free and unbound. She heard sparrows tweeting outside. She was no longer grieving, now she had figured out that this was the best thing for her. At this point, her sister Josephine insists
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