Historically, in the late 19th century, great importance was placed on women to fulfill their roles as mothers and housewives. Society established ideals according to which a woman should provide her husband with a “happy home,” so that he would have a place to rest after fulfilling his noblest duties of fatherhood and manhood. In “The Story of an Hour,” Louise makes it clear that this lifestyle is not for her. Her self-centeredness shows that she is eager to discover the pleasure that life has to offer her. However, she is at the same time conflicted with herself and has difficulty identifying whether she has feelings for her husband. Due to Louise's disbelief at her husband's death, it ends up being her own demise due to the internal issues she struggles with, the cultural norms she must live by, and the heavy toll on her heart when she saw her husband. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When the news of Mr. Mallard's death reached Louise, she was in disbelief. At first, she struggled to identify what she was feeling, until reality set in. Her abnormal reaction to the news of her husband's death and her lack of emotion suggest that she had difficulty accepting the news. At one point in the story, the narrator exclaims, “Free!” Free body and soul! (129) From Lawrence Berkove's point of view, this implies that "there is meaning with Louise and that she wants to 'live for herself.' It could also commonly be interpreted that she had to sacrifice her own freedom to her husband” (234). Louise's reaction to the news of her husband's death revealed that she had likely been subjected to the oppression of her husband's authority. Her undiagnosed mental health disorder exacerbates Louise's struggle with her internal issues, demonstrating that her indecision in not leaving her husband contributes to her own demise. "However, legally and culturally, women's lives were still very limited compared to that of men, and Chopin's story reflects both these constraints and the growing desire of many women for "liberation" of all kinds" ("Introduction"). In “The Story of an Hour,” Chopin explains in detail these ideals that women were expected to live by in the 19th century, stating, “There would be no one to live for for years to come; she would live for herself” (Chopin 129). The severity of the restraint Louise experienced while married to Mr. Mallard was evident by the enthusiasm she expressed in the minutes following the news of her husband's death. In the 19th century, many women tried to escape the social norms imposed on them at the time. According to Michael O'Malley, "Some argued that women should concentrate on the home and domestic work – that women had particularly loving and gentle natures and were naturally suited to childcare and 'domestic arts'." » decoration and education. .” O'Malley goes on to state, "Man's world was seen as harsh, rational, progressive, competitive, and tough, and woman's world was soft, irrational, emotional, altruistic, and loving." The stigma that women faced in the 19th century helped explain why Louise felt like she had no control during the duration of her marriage to Mr. Mallard. Because the 19th century was considered a "man's world", the lack of value of a woman's role in society led to Louise's death. Towards the end of the story, Chopin reveals that Louise's husband was not dead 2016.