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"There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature."
As she contemplates her newfound independence, Louise realizes that without the bond of marriage connecting her to another person, there will be no one to challenge the choices she makes. The broad language Chopin uses in this sentence, including “men,” “women,” and “creature,” suggests that the oppression Louise feels in her relationship with Brently applies to all kinds of relationships regardless of whether they are loving or not. Chopin seems to argue that the structure of marriage itself is oppressive rather than the specific people in it.
"What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!"
This line, which appears after Louise admits that she often did not love her husband, points to the irrelevance of love when it comes to the oppression inherent in marriage. Calling love an “unsolved mystery” implies that it is an unreliable factor in the dynamics of a relationship and has no influence over Louise’s new perception of herself. More than anything, she desires a life of freedom that only a complete release from the bonds of marriage can provide. Love is not strong enough to change her mind.
