Final answer:
Kate Chopin's third-person limited omniscient narrative in 'The Story of an Hour' deeply involves the reader in Mrs. Mallard's emotional journey, highlighting the repressive effects of societal norms on women and challenging traditional gender roles.
Step-by-step explanation:
The narrative technique in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour significantly affects the impact of the story by closely aligning readers with the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, and her inner experiences. The story employs a third-person limited omniscient point of view, allowing insight into Mrs. Mallard’s emotional transitions upon hearing of her husband’s alleged death. Through the use of this narrative perspective, Chopin emphasizes the repressive nature of societal expectations on women during the 19th century and illuminates the protagonist's brief experience of freedom. This stylistic choice also serves to challenge and subvert traditional gender roles, as the reader comes to understand the character's complex response to her husband's death which juxtaposes initial feelings of loss with an overpowering sense of emancipation. By concluding the story with Mrs. Mallard's ironic and tragic end, Chopin leaves a lasting impression on the reader about the costs of societal constraints on individual desires.