The Search for Freedom in The Story of an Hour In the early 1900s, marriage was comparable to a master-slave relationship. The role of women in marriage was minimal. A woman's place was in the home, taking care of children, cleaning the house, and performing other "feminine" tasks. Chained to their husbands, marriage became a prison for many women; the only means to free herself from these bonds is the death of her husband. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," Mrs. Mallard lives for an hour, experiencing rebirth into freedom and death when that freedom is lost. While sitting downstairs, Mrs. Mallard grieves over the loss of her husband and her new-found freedom. His death tears everything from under his feet. Dependent and heartbroken, everything she relies on her husband for has now become her responsibility. Crying "with sudden, wild abandon...", Mrs. Mallard lets her emotions over her husband's death flow freely, so...