Irony in Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour Essay

Although true to its name regarding length, “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin published in the eighteen-hundreds, is a profound story with a deeply tragic implication. At first glance, one may assume that this story is a short and not very complex read, and while that is partially true, “The Story of an Hour” has so much more to offer upon further analysis. The main character, Louise Mallard, is a woman who feels confined by her “love”, Brently Mallard, who acts as the opposing force in this story; and throughout the plot it divulges a tale of freedom, which inevitably gets torn from her very grasp. This alone is evidence enough that among the devices Chopin uses, irony and foreshadowing being two examples; irony is the most important.

Both Mrs. Mallard and Desiree come to a tragic end in a world dominated by males. In “The Story of an Hour” the reader is made to believe that the story might have a happier ending, however, Mrs. Mallards life had the same ironic ending as that of Desiree. In Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour,” there is a lot of use of irony. When Louise Mallard is about to be told about the death of her husband, Brently Mallard. The reader expects such news to have a toll on the health of a woman who has a heart condition. It is at this point that the reader start noticing the irony in the story. Upon hearing the news Mrs. Mallard retreats to her room and stares out her window. It is her thoughts and view from the window that make this story ironic. As she looks through her window, Mrs. Mallard sees “the tops of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life.” (653) This statement is ironic because it meant she was about to begin this new life and now felt as though she finally had the freedom to live her life the way she had always wanted. Mrs. Mallard saw “beyond the bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (654). She was about to start living this life she had only dreamed of and it is at this point that Chopin shocks the reader when Mrs. Mallard

To help better understand, here is the definition of dramatic irony: “irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the story” (“dramatic irony”). We see this very clearly when we read about Mrs. Mallard being happy and free of her husband while she has been alone in her room. However, nobody else in the story knew about this yet; everyone believed that she was still upset and depressed. Mrs. Mallard’s sister, Josephine, knocks on her door and says, “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door – you will make yourself ill” (Chopin 201). The reason behind this is because Josephine has no clue that Mrs. Mallard was not going to make herself ill. She was, in fact, the opposite of ill, “she arose at length and opened the door to her sister importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of victory” (Chopin 201). We, as the readers, knew this before the other character, which makes it an example of dramatic

The Story of an Hour is one big case of Situational Irony, to be frank. Mrs. Mallory is is thinking that she is going to be free, that now that her husband is gone she can live her life the way she chooses. And then her husband walks through the door and dies. To top it off, the doctors diagnosed her with doing of happiness. Situtational Irony was used excellently in the story.To be honest, without Situational Irony, I don’t think there wouldn’t be much of a story. Mrs.Mallory would be sad her husband was dead, he would walk through the door at the end, and she would be happy again. Typical story. In my opinion, Situational Irony was used

Kate Chopin uses the literary element of irony throughout the short story “The Story of an Hour” in which the character Mrs. Mallard has to go through after a tragic event. Mrs. Mallard and her husband live together in a house. One day Mrs. Mallard’s sister and her husband’s friend heard the news that Mr. Mallard had died and tell Mrs. Mallard what happened. This short story describes in an abundance of detail what her inner thoughts in that one hour are and how it affects her sister and her husband’s friend as they try to keep her safe and calm. In the short story, “The Short Story of an Hour” is written by the author Kate Chopin which is about one eventful hour of Louise Mallard the wife of Brently Mallard. In the short story “The Story

While Mrs. Mallard is a young woman that is used to her life being in the hands of her husband, she quickly begins to realize that there is more to life than a marriage where she feels confined. Just as quickly as she learns what her new life could be, it is ripped away from her and her life is literally over. Within a short period of time, her world opens and she can view a new life ahead. In “The Story of an Hour”, there are many pieces that are symbolic throughout the story. Mrs. Mallard’s heart trouble, the open window, the chair, and the closed door. These symbols have a meaning to Mrs. Mallard’s story. They all tell what her life is like and what she really wants it to be like, all in a quick hour.

In the story “The story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the author used many examples of irony. In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard’s friend Richard was there when the news of Ms. Mallard’s death received and he just makes sure by the second telegram. But the reality is different from what we read at the beginning. As seen in this example, believing some event will happen, but then the opposite occurs which is called irony. In the part "assure himself of its truth by a second telegram", I thought Mallard’s husband was dead. However, I learned that he never died. When Mrs. Mallard says “Free! Body and soul free!”. It was really clear that she was happy to be free from her unhappy marriage. It was also awkward that how she describes the

“The Story of an Hour” is a story about a women with a heart condition who was just told her husband had passed away. She was saddened at first, but then Mrs. Mallard was relieved

As we can see Chopin’s main character Mrs. Mallard progresses confidently throughout the course of this short story. Mrs. Mallard recognizes and deals with her husband’s death not with grief, which is what would be expected, but with excitement and happiness; Her husband’s death changes her perspective on life and her goals. Her general happiness excels and becomes more obvious throughout the ending of Chopin’s “Story of an Hour.” In the big picture of the change we see in Mrs. Mallard it is evident that she changes into a more confident and independent woman, if only for a short

Imagine this: the husband you have spent a majority of your time with suddenly dies in a train crash. Everyone expects you to be devastated, to go completely insane. No one arounds you knows how to break the news that the man you love is gone. If only they knew, though, that you did not actually love him at all. This is what happened to Mrs. Mallard, the main character of ¨The Story of an Hour¨. When she found out her husband was no longer alive, she had never been more excited. She was excited to finally be free and on her own, so when she heard that he was actually unharmed, it did not sit well with her. Because the woman felt so trapped in her marriage, she died from shock and sadness by the sight of her alive husband. This surprising story deals with two types of irony: situational and dramatic, which I will be breaking down.

Dramatic irony is established when the readers are aware of Mrs. Mallard’s feelings towards her husband’s death, everyone, especially Josephine, believed that Mrs. Mallard is upset by the news. Josephine, who is separated from her sister by a door believed that Mrs. Mallard is going to make herself ill over the news of her husband, when in reality Mrs. Mallard is actually full of joy and looking forward to the “long years” ahead.

The first irony in the story begins when Richard goes around and tells everyone that Mr. Mallard is dead. The messenger being unreliable, he doesn’t read the name on telegram twice to make sure it’s the right person. Another irony is that Mrs. Mallard was hoping for a long life without her husband, but unfortunately she dies and her husband lives longer than her. When she gets the news of her husband’s death, she cries but she is happy that are husband is dead. Josephine is concerned thinking that Mrs. Mallard locked herself in the room, making herself sick, but she is there thinking about her future, how is going to be great without her husband. Moreover, when the doctor tells ‘she has died of heart disease-of joy that kills (chopin-440).” When the doctor says that Mr. Mallard, Josephine thinks that she died of the joy of seeing her husband but in reality she dies because she was in shock and her past one hour dreams have been lost

Irony can be best defined as using a language that normally means the opposite. There are different types of irony like situational irony, verbal irony, and dramatic irony. In “The Story of an Hour” Chopin makes use of these different ironies to show how one is never fully aware of what goes on peoples’ mind, or how they truly feel. A great example of situational irony is Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband’s death. Normally when an individual loses their spouse it takes a long-time to overcome deep sorrow. The grief of a husband or wife takes

In Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour the reader receives a glimpse of many forms of irony, in the setting and in the story in general. The story opens in the home of the Mallards, where Mrs. Mallard just learned of the death of her husband. The story is set during an age where women were dependent on their husbands to care for them.

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is about Louise Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death and how she changes her feelings through the course of one hour. Mrs. Mallard suffers from heart problems. She is overwhelmed to find out her husband, Brently Mallard, is dead after a railroad accident. She finds out about the railroad accident through a telegram the newspaper office received. She gets in a depressed state and cries her eyes out, “As a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams” (Chopin 128). She also does not want any attention from anyone. “She went away to her room alone. She would have no one to follow her” (128). While alone, she thinks to herself that her husband’s death is a good