What does she mean by the "tyranny of [the] closet"? Not having to do laundry?
Perhaps it means having to dress up for others.
That would make sense, Paul, a lot more sense than freedom from doing the laundry!
So, then, does "freed from the tyranny of the table" mean she doesn't have to worry about her weight and waistline?
I was looking at the whole sentence and thinking that the important point was time being her own--because she didn't have to cook for anyone else. That is, in general, older women who find themselves living alone no longer have to cook or wash for other people.