"The Story of an Hour", written by Kate Chopin in the late 18th Century, is a dramatic example of a woman who suddenly discovers her freedom from the repression of her marriage. The author vividly portrays the low position of a wife in a suppressive marriage of that time. Although this story is short, only covering the last hour of the woman's life, the impact on the reader is to make her realize how few …showed first 75 words of 795 total…

…showed last 75 words of 795 total…men and are equal partners in marriage. The effect of this short story is to emphasize that a woman's success can be based on her own merits and that women can appreciate the long struggle for freedom made by women of the past. Kate Chopin uses descriptive imagery, elements of suspense, and astonishing irony to keep the reader's interest and at the same time provide further thought on her theme of the repression of women.