of terror….went from her eyes” (11). Louise would now “live for herself” (11). The joy this realization instilled in her was like “drinking in a very elixir of life through that window” (11). Her confusion of her love for Brentley and the newfound freedom “which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being” (12) bothered her, but eventually she concludes, “she would weep again” (12) but now would pick up like a new season and move forward. As Mrs. Mallard contemplates her future and all the “days that would be her own” (12), she is interrupted by the opening of the front door. To her dismay, although “she loved him- sometimes” (12), Brentley, who was away from the train wreck and oblivious to the news enters. She is blocked from the sight of him and screams, Louise’s chance to slip out of the dominance that hung over her has been quickly taken away. This is unbearable to her and as her freedom is ripped away, she dies. Died “of a joy that kills” (12).The thought of being free and then that possibility being taken away is dismal. The awakening of the feminist movement proves well for today’s era. For no longer do women have to accept the patriarchal system of marriage. Females no longer have to remain so unhappy that the thought of returning to the state of control could kill them: A “joy that kills” (12). This circumstance is no longer applicable in modern day to most women. It is no longer acceptable to have such power over your wife that she is unhappy. A man, like Brentley Mallard, can have so much power that he took away Louise’s values. She believes she is so inferior that her “two white hands were powerless” (11). This absence of pride leaves her susceptible to control and unjust treatment. When a woman finally realizes her restraints and gets away from the dominance the result ...
