Literary Criticism Essay Throughout Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour", different levels of settings are revealed as as the plot is revealed. A setting can and does exist in any form of fiction as in this short story. They represent place, elements of time and social context. These elements that I just mentioned create particular moods, qualities of characters and different forms of themes. This particular short story deals with the ying and yang of a young woman's emotions. She discovered her independence in the death of her husband, and then came the “tragic” discovery that in fact her husband was still alive. Certain factors in the setting reveal certain characteristics of Louise Mallard, who is one of the main characters. The heart of this story takes place in the spring of the 1890s, in a period of about an hour, and in a house that belonged to the Mallards. This is extremely significant for the meaning of the story. Louise Mallard's husband was allegedly killed on a railway and when she heard this news she was devastated. The story goes that “she immediately cried” and “went alone to her room” (12). One day, while looking out of the second story window, she began to change her mind and feel a sense of independence from her husband. She notices “the delicious breath of rain,” a peddler. . . mourning its wares", "the notes of a distant song", "countless sparrows"... chirping", and "pieces of blue sky", "all quiver with the new spring life" (13). This new independence from her husband leads her to utter the words "free, free, free" (13). I only wonder how she was able to develop such independence so suddenly. she saw... middle of paper... often, what does it matter! Louise thinks to herself (13). is always bound to him like a slave to her master Whatever her reasoning, the social aspects constitute the most essential part of the setting of this short story. The story. A setting is like a model for the story to participate in. In this story, Chopin develops the story based on the duties of women in the 1890s. The specific context - the time of year and. the structure of the Mallard house - also provides clues to help readers understand Louise and try to determine the cause of her death. Louise may die of heart disease, as the doctors say at the end of the story, but the setting indicates that the illness was not "the joy that kills »." (14).