• Dr. Vandana Sharma

This research paper is based on The Story of an Hour, a short story written by Kate Chopin. The present researcher intends to know the mental condition of the protagonist Louise Mallard who otherwise is a heart patient. Her sister and a family friend are cautious enough to break the news of her husband's sudden death. Their concern is that she may not die of the shocking news. When her sister Josephine breaks the news, she weeps in the arms of her sister and goes to her room to be alone. Her loneliness takes her into reverie instead of insanity or heartbreak. The view of the world from her window takes her to ecstasy. She feels free from the shackles of the conventional marriage bond in which love does not have any space. This researcher paper aims to discuss the position of women in the past as compared to that in contemporary society. Mrs. Mallard represents the women of the Victorian time who were considered as the bread-maker in a family. Her job was to take care of her family and to follow the rules set by family and society. Women are still expected to be passive and submissive to represent femininity. In this story, the writer Kate Chopin has exposed the hidden desire for freedom of a woman who suffers from being subservient in the patriarchal society through her protagonist. The researcher's endeavor is to reach to an apt conclusion whether the character of Mrs. Mallard represents most of the women of contemporary society also or is just restricted to the strange, abnormal thinking of Mrs. Mallard. In order to reach a conclusion, the researcher did a thorough study of the background of the writer Kate Chopin to understand her psychology to write this story. The researcher tried to understand the women's liberation movement also in order to find out the type of freedom that women want in the present society.

Key Words Freedom, Women Liberation, women empowerment, patriarchal society, grief, and happiness.

"Louise Mallard, the protagonist of Kate Chopin’s short story titled the story of an hour, represents the position of women in Victorian society", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 4, page no.218-219, April 2020, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2004522.pdf

"Louise Mallard, the protagonist of Kate Chopin’s short story titled the story of an hour, represents the position of women in Victorian society", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 4, page no. pp218-219, April 2020, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2004522.pdf