The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is about a young woman who is addressed by her married name, Mrs. Mallard, whose husband suffers a tragedy. death. Instead of feeling sad and hopeless for the rest of her young life, she feels a very strong sense of relief because, in all honesty, she never liked the idea of ​​not having free will in her marriage. As she sits in her room and thinks about her situation, she only feels relieved, almost happy that her husband is dead because she can now live her life. However, just when his life seemed to be heading in a very positive direction, Mr. Mallard arrives home, alive and well. Seeing her husband alive causes her such distress that she has a heart attack and immediately dies. The irony of this situation, with the use of many distinct symbols, helps establish the theme of the oppression inherent in marriage. In order to understand the concept of oppressive marriages, one must understand how the use of figurative language and literary devices gives depth to the marriage. the themes of the story. The most common literary device found in the short story is symbolism. Symbolism “is the use of symbols to signify meanings other than their literal meaning” (Merriam Webster). Common examples of symbolism include the symbols of "open window" which signify a new freedom found by the protagonist and "darkness" which can mean great evil. in the heart of a character, sadness and illness or death. Additionally, the most common figurative language is irony. Irony “is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from their actual meaning. It can also be a situation that can end in an entirely different way than is generally expected" (L...... middle of paper ....... Ultimately, Kate Chopin's goal writing this story is to show the audience that sometimes it's okay to feel trapped because there is always a solution even if that solution is death. In conclusion, the use of symbolism and irony really delivers. the depth to the conflicts and themes that Kate Chopin is trying to depict readers who take the initiative to try to analyze her short story The use of figurative language and literary devices gives literature like Kate's. Chopin the necessary brilliance that will help the reader find deeper meaning in this hour-long story." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, nd Web. April 11, 2014. "Devices." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, nd Web. . April 9, 2014. “123TEL Rates (International).” 123TEL Np, nd Web, April 11, 2014. “Trent Nation.” Trent Nation, nd Web.. 2014.