It wasn’t a common occurrence that a woman in a male dominated 1880’s, published stories with strong female leads, often wary of the confined, sheltered lives they led as housewives. Yet, the lack of popularity on this topic did not deter Kate Chopin from publishing two novels and several short stories during her writing career of 14 years (Walker ix). Kate Chopin was not afraid to expose the often neglected and unfulfilled lives of women in the late 18th century. A period in which women weren’t allowed to vote and were just beginning to gain footing in matters such as owning property, receiving inheritance, and the acquiring the custody of their children(The Women’s Right Movement). Though, Chopin managed to cause a stir with her “radical” stories, it wasn’t until the 1960’s, more than half a century later (Katechopin.org). that her stories began to gain popularity among the growing feminist movement. The Story of an Hour…show more content… In The Awakening and Story of an Hour both protagonists escape the world that has them trapped by committing suicide, whereas Mamzelle’s liberation consisted of a moment of regret after her house was left empty of the effusiveness brought by her neighbor’s children. Xang concludes her essay by stating that had Louise lived she would not have been allowed to exert her newfound freedom. The social constraints that kept her tied to her husband against her will would still be there, even if Mr. Mallard had actually died. The same can be said for Edna Pontelleir. She had to die in order to truly become free, otherwise she would have been at the mercy of her rich and powerful husband. Following that logic, by the end of the story Mamzelle is still tied to the system that had driven her to choose a life of solitude over the idea of marriage and its
