As a wife, that was all she had known and lived for; however, now that her husband had passed, she need not follow his desires or be confined any longer. “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature” (Chopin 525). Mrs. Mallard had finally gained the opportunity to break free and come out of her room, descend the staircase, and venture out the door so she could begin living for herself. “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (Chopin 525). Despite her unbridled excitement in regards to being able to live for herself, she became ambivalent when her husband walked through the door alive and