Kate Chopin uses descriptions of setting and imagery in "The Story of an Hour" to convey themes of freedom and independence. The story begins in a non-descript public room where Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband's death. Her private bedroom symbolizes confinement, but she gazes longingly out the open window, seeing it as an opportunity for a new life beyond the constraints of her marriage and home. The activity and signs of spring she observes through the window represent freedom and a future filled with possibilities, unlike her old life within the house. Chopin employs imagery of the sky, trees in spring, and an "open square" to symbolize Mrs. Mallard's longing for liberation from her oppressive life