Independence In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

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Recommended: The Story of an Hour

In Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” Louise Mallard is informed that her husband has died in a tragic railroad accident and, after crying, retreats to her room where she comes across the realization that her life is now her own again - no longer to be lived solely for her husband. When, later on in the Story, her husband walks through the door she dies of a heart attack that is pronounced by doctors to be caused by the joy of seeing her husband alive again, though the readers know that the exact opposite is the case: she died of sadness at the loss of her newfound independence. Chopin explores the theme and concept of independence in this story, both within the confines of marriage and outside of it. There are several symbols within the story

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