First, Louise's husband towers over the entire narrative and provides Louise with the impetus to desire freedom. Several narrative examples point to his domineering and controlling nature (and indeed the society of the time) towards women. Louise can't help but think that "There would be no powerful will that could bend hers into that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will on their fellow man." While at the time she was largely philosophical about civilization as a whole, in the context of the story this quote paints her husband as callous and controlling, making him a figure of her entrapment. Louise's reflections on a future without her husband make his death a symbol of freedom. Before going downstairs to witness the climax of the story, Louise prays hoping that “life will be long”. He remembers that only yesterday he feared the thought of a long life. From this moment she accepts a reality in which she has become free. Consequently, the appearance of her unharmed husband after her grandiose daydreams of autonomy causes Louise to die, freeing her from her daily problems and fantasies. Thus, Mr. Mallard becomes both a symbol of domineering servitude and liberation, although the latter is not present as a character in the story.