Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour captivates its readers from the beginning and creates an unexpected twist at the end of the news. Louise Mallard learns that her husband has died in a terrible train accident. To his great surprise, he arrived home and “didn’t even know there had been one” (Chopin, 607). When Louise dies, who thought she was a widow and discovers that her husband is still alive, the confusion begins. Louise's death is questioned by many critics as a state of shock, depression and sadness. However, Mark Cunningham's review of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" states that her death was more a discovery of release from the physical strains of her marriage to her husband and societal views on women. Cunningham argues that at the sight of her husband alive, "Louise's death is elsewhere: in joy" (Cunningham, 49), at having finally escaped her marriage and the burdens it imposed on her life. Cunningham also states that it's possible that Louise didn't even see her husband, but that doesn't necessarily matter. Finally, Cunningham argues that not only does she escape the tensions of marriage, but Louise also escapes society's natural and degrading views of women and the place they occupy in society. To the best of his judgment, Cunningham does an exquisite job of defining the meaning of Louise's death. However, I will argue that it is important to study Louise Mallard's view of her husband, as it emphasizes his desperate escape from his physically dangerous marriage, which must also be taken into account. I think the focus should be on the idea of ​​symbolism and the role it played in explaining Louise's freedom from her marriage. This could be beneficial for...... middle of article...... reviews, 607). Finally, Cunningham said it was not important whether or not Louise saw her husband before he died. But I think it's important to point out that she saw her husband, because it symbolizes her final stretch to freedom. Cunningham's review certainly succeeded in explaining why Chopin wrote this short story in the 19th century. Women were in a very difficult situation in society, but for some like Louise Mallard, there may have been other factors that made freedom such a desirable hope. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. “The story of an hour”. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed.Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: WW Norton, 2010. 607-608. Cunningham, M. "The Autonomous Feminine Self and the Death of Louise Mallard in KateChopin's Story of an Hour." » Notes in English. 42.1 (2004): 48-55.