In the story "The Story in an Hour", the author discusses various topics in his story, including women's independence, oppression, and marriage through his portrait of the “so-called” widow Louise Mallard. in his last hour of life. After learning that her husband has died in a train accident, Mrs. Mallard goes through several stages in her final hour. At first, she is overwhelmed by grief and doesn't know what to do next. She then becomes elated and sees this as a chance to change her life and start again. The news that her husband is alive then shakes Mrs. Mallard from her illusion and, ironically, causes her to die. These thoughts and stages that Mrs. Mallard went through show the reader how much oppression women put on them, how much freedom they had, and the typical married life at that time. The time period in which the story takes place has a big impact. on women in general. The story takes place at the end of the 19th century. “It was written on April 19, 1894 and first published in Vogue on December 6, 1894, under the title “The Dream of an Hour.” It was reprinted in St. Louis Life on January 5, 1895. The “cult of domesticity,” first named and identified at the turn of the century, took place in rural settings. The beliefs embodied in this “cult” gave women a central and passive role in the family. Women's God-given role, he asserted, was that of wife and mother, guardian of the home, guardian of the moral purity of all who lived there. (katechopin.org) Women's responsibilities were stereotypical: children had to be cherished and nurtured, food had to be prepared for the family, and the house had to be clean and orderly. Popular literature and advancement...... middle of paper...... her burdens only after her husband's death. The oppression that Mrs. Mallard suffered was not unusual at the time, as most women at that time also suffered, as did Mrs. Mallard. They went through the same tribulations and carried the burdens as Mrs. Mallard. “What is ultimately unexpected and abrupt about the story is the opportunity and exploration of one's experience of freedom, however short it may be. » (Myriad Article) She had the chance to see a life without being someone else's possession. She was able to see a future in which she would finally be free and able to do things she couldn't do otherwise. Understanding her misfortune clearly shows Chopin's commitment to depicting the daily burdens of marriage that women carried, women's lack of independence from society, and liberation from male oppression in "The Story one hour ».”.