Mrs. Mallard’s freedom and confinement in The Story of an Hour

Mrs. Mallard’s freedom and confinement in The Story of an Hour

The Story of an Hour illustrates the dual themes of confinement and freedom. Mrs. Mallard’s story reveals the restricted roles of women in 19th-century society and the profound yearning for selfhood that lay beneath those constraints. The brief and intense exploration of freedom in Louise’s mind highlights both the allure and the cost of autonomy in a world that does not yet recognize a woman’s right to it.