Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is about a young woman who goes by her married name, Mrs. Mallard, whose husband has a tragic death. Instead of being sad and full of despair for the rest of her young life, she feels a very strong sense of relief because she honestly never liked the idea of ​​not having free will in her marriage. As she sits in her room and thinks about her situation she feels relieved, almost happy that her husband is dead because now she can live her life. However, just when his life seemed to be taking a very positive direction, Mr. Mallard shows up at home, very much alive. Seeing her husband alive causes her such anguish that she has a heart attack and dies immediately. The irony of this situation, with the use of many distinct symbols, helps establish the theme of the inherent oppressiveness of marriage. To understand the concept of an oppressive marriage, it is necessary to understand how the use of figurative language and literary devices give 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 indicate meanings other than their literal sense” (Merriam Webster). Common examples of symbolism include the symbols “open window” which signifies new freedom found by the protagonist, and “darkness” which can mean great evil in a character's heart, sadness, illness, or death. Furthermore, the most widespread 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 the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a situation that may end in a very different way than generally expected” (L...... middle of paper....... Finally, the purpose with which Kate Chopin writes this story is to shows the audience that sometimes it's okay to feel trapped because there is always a solution even if that solution seems to be death, the use of symbolism and irony really gives depth to the conflicts and themes that Kate Chopin she is trying to portray readers taking the initiative in trying to analyze her tale The use of figurative language and literary devices gives literature like that of Kate Chopin the necessary glow that will help the reader find a deeper meaning. to this story. Of an hour." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, nd Web. 11 April 2014. "Devices." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, nd Web. 09 April 2014. "123TEL Rates (International)." 123TEL. Np, nd Web. 11 April 2014. "Nazione di Trento".. 2014.