Story of an hour

Question

The following line from "The Story of an Hour" shows a thought Mrs. Mallard has about marriage:
"A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination."

Which best paraphrases her thought? 

Marriage is less a crime if the people both have kind intentions.

It is not a crime to confine a woman to marriage if the husband's intentions are good.

Getting married is a crime if it is done with cruel intentions.

Even if it is done with good intentions, confining a woman to marriage is a crime.

Answer 1

I believe the last statement, "Even if it is done with good intentions, confining a woman to marriage is a crime." is the best paraphrase of that quote. Mrs. Mallard believes she has just been widowed, and rather than grieve her husband's untimely passing, she is grieving the time she has lost being married. We see that she is secretly ecstatic at the thought of widowed, and that now "she would live for herself." She admits to loving her husband sometimes, but that marriage, overall, is oppressive, and has been a burden.