Chopin's theme is freedom and confinement. How does she use her characters, the setting, the plot, and symbols to get her message across?

This is a short story, and the setting doesn't really change over the course of the story's hour-long time frame. The story starts out in Mrs. Mallard's house, and then it moves to Mrs. Mallard's bedroom. The house and room are symbolic of the confinement theme. Mrs. Mallard feels restricted in her marriage, and the story restricts readers to a very small space. The other characters in this story also contribute to the setting's symbolism, as it reflects Mrs. Mallard's marriage. Notice how Mrs. Mallard stays confined to her house or room the entire time. She never goes outside. The story doesn't allow her to leave; however, other characters come into the house. The fact that they have to come into the house means that they are free to leave the house as well. We are specifically told about the men that are allowed to enter and leave the house as they please. This was likely intentional by the author since a big part of the story's message is how confined Mrs. Mallard is in her marriage. As long as she is married, her hopes, dreams, and freedoms are put on hold for her husband's sake. She can't leave to pursue her desires, in the same way that she can't leave her husband or the house during this story. As for the plot, it is a tightly constrained narration of events and feelings. Chopin simply doesn't spend much time giving readers extra details. The story moves readers quickly along with Mrs. Mallard's emotions, and we are given information that we need to know and really nothing else. It's like the plot is being choked down to the bare minimum, just as Mrs. Mallard's life is essentially being choked through the repression she feels in her marriage.


As far as setting goes, it is very limited, and this seems to mirror the confinement Louise Mallard has evidently felt in her married life. The story takes place within the confines of the Mallards' home, the vast majority of it in one particular room. Louise locks herself in her room after she hears the news of her husband's death; however, one window is open in that room, and, through it, she sees that everything outside is "all aquiver with the new spring life." This window is a symbol of the renewed life that Louise has gained now that she is a widow (or so she believes). She is now excited about the possibilities her life holds, and she seems very alive to the beauty of life now that it is truly her own to live.

Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days . . . would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

She will no longer have to compromise or concern herself with the will of her husband, a man who she admits loved her but who was legally entitled to rule over her. The "repression" that is, apparently, responsible for the "lines" on her young face no longer exists, and her old life seems washed away by the "delicious breath of rain . . . in the air" outside. The window represents her freedom, and the new life outside represents her new life as a free woman.
There are also few characters in the story, and Louise spends so much of the story by herself in her room that the sense of her life as being a relatively confined one—similar to the limited setting—seems to be confirmed. Richards, her husband's good friend, comes quickly in order to break the news to Louise gently, and we get the sense that people typically try to protect Louise due to her diagnosis of heart trouble. Such protection, while well-meaning, can feel stifling, and so we see Louise attempt to escape it by escaping Josephine and Richards almost as soon as the news is broken. "She would have no one follow her" to her room.
We see, then, through the plot, how the behavior of even well-meaning people can feel confining. Louise needs to be alone, away from her sister and her husband's friend, even though they are only trying to help and protect her. Louise knows, also, that "she would weep again when she saw . . . the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead." Brently Mallard has not been a terrible husband: there's been no abuse or cruelty or even a lack of love—at least, not on his side. Despite the fact that their behavior toward Louise has been affectionate, she is still so glad to escape it, to be free of them.

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