Introduction The ‘ Story of an Hour’ forms part of the captivating literary chef-d’oeuvres of Kate Chopin, capturing not only the reader’s mind but also his/her emotions. The story is rich in the message, with every word strategically fixed and heavily laden with meaning. Louise, the story’s hero and an epitome of married people, reveals that, though misconceived by many as dominated by love and joy, marriage is slavery by itself, and virtually all married couples cry of oppression and hunger for freedom. According to Chopin, marriage is one oppressive institution that deprives each of the parties of the ever-needed joy of independence. Story Summary/Analysis Chopin qualifies in presenting the aforementioned message through the way he strategically allocates different roles to his different characters. The story opens with Louise Mallard, suffering from heart trouble. News about the death of her husband arises and owing to her heart problem, carefulness is vital for the one to deliver the news to her. Josephine, her sister does the task and Richard is revealed as having learned of the death from a newspaper office. Louise begins to cry and resolves to go upstairs to stay alone. The reader expects to see her sickness become worse following the bad news but hers is a cover of some joy within her since she expects a lot of positive change as a result of her husband’s unexpected demise. Alone in the room, she looks through an open window, seeing trees and experiencing the smell of coming rain. The words “open window” symbolize how she now will be connected to the world, free of the slavery of marriage. Moreover, trees and rain imply a good environment that awaits her. Ironically, as she imagines the coming days without her husband, joy fills her as she sees “…a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely…and spreads her arms out to them in welcome” (Chopin 5). Responding to Josephine’s request, Mallard and Josephine walk downstairs, only for her to die upon unexpectedly seeing her husband. The reader can conclude that the death comes from her surprise and dismay, as she imagines how her previous feelings and expectations will never happen. According to Chopin, independence is a prohibited joy privately imagined by married couples. Independence Chopin succeeds in revealing independence as a forbidden pleasure experienced privately by married people; for instance, when the news of the death of Brently reaches Louise, she violently reacts and mourns as obviously expected of her. However, as she goes upstairs to mourn alone, she imagines her future independent life and feels excited and inspired as a result. Despite the excitement, she decides to suppress the joyful feeling to “beat it up with her will” (Chopin 7), a reaction that indicates how needed, yet prohibited the joy is. More so, the joy that she recognizes is so overwhelming that “She said it over and over under her breath: …free, free, and free” (Chopin 6). Her life as a married woman could not avail this feeling. In fact, she prays for longer life so that she can get a chance of experiencing more of this freedom. However, the unexpected return of her husband deprives her, not only of the prohibited joy but also of her life. As Chopin reveals, marriage is an oppressive institution. Oppression Oppression dom