Themes

Of the major themes in this short story, freedom and confinement truly explain the sufferings in which Mrs. Mallard is subjected to enduring. Mrs. Mallard faces captivity through her marriage, health condition, and even her own home. Although freedom has been a lifelong dream of obtaining, she also dreads it. However, once it arrives, she has no plans of letting it go. Ironically, this revelation of emotional and mental freedom is all done in a room she is confined too. Furthermore, after emerging from that room, she is meant by her greatest and true obstacle- her husband.