Question

1. and yet she had loved him--sometimes. often she had not. what did it matter! what could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! 12. free! body and soul free! she kept whispering. 13. josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. louise, open the door! i beg, open the door--you will make yourself ill. what are you doing, louise? for heavens sake open the door. 14. go away. i am not making myself ill. no; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. she breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. it was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. 15. she arose at length and opened the door to her sisters importunities. there was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of victory. she clasped her sisters waist, and together they descended the stairs. richards stood waiting for them at the bottom. 16. someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. it was brently mallard who entered, a little travel - stained, composedly carrying his grip - sack and umbrella. he had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. he stood amazed at josephines piercing cry; at richards quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife. 17. but richards was too late. 18. when the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease -- of the joy that kills. which of the following describes a theme of \the story of an hour\? men and women in the 1800s were treated equally in western society. women in the 1800s were eager to be free from a restrictive lifestyle. marriage in the 1800s was the only way to have true happiness.

Explanation:

In the story, Louise's reaction to the news of her husband's death (feeling "Free! Body and soul free!") and her envisioning of a life that "would be her own" clearly shows her desire to escape a restrictive life. The era - 1800s - was one where women faced many restrictions. The first option is incorrect as men and women were not treated equally. The third option is wrong because Louise's experience (dying when her husband was alive) shows marriage was not a source of true happiness in her case.

Answer:

Women in the 1800s were eager to be free from a restrictive lifestyle.