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Story Of An Hour Irony

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The short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a story about a woman with heart problems. The name of the woman is Louise Mallard, and she was happily married, or at least that is what she thought. Mr. Mallard, her husband, works on the railroads, which had experienced a horrible accident. After a friend heard about the accident, Mrs. Mallard received the news he had died. At first, she wept, but then she suddenly felt a monstrous joy come over her. She began to feel free and alive again. Consequently, Chopin's theme represents the struggle between freedom and repression, and she conveys her theme by using techniques such as irony, symbolism, and imagery throughout her story. Short stories may be small, but they can present a meaningful …show more content…

At the beginning of the story, when Mr. Mallard had supposedly “died” Mrs. Mallard felt free. She had previously been oppressed by her husband and never could truly live her life the way she desired. So once her husband died, she began to see a new life for herself. Her new life did not last long it only lasted an hour, which is the irony of the story. Mrs. Mallard was finally free, yet she was not able to enjoy it. For example, when Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister told her “I beg; open the door...you will make yourself ill” while Mrs. Mallard was “drinking in every elixir of life through that open window,” Josephine was correct. They both did not know it at the time, but while she was enjoying her freedom through the open window, she was making herself sick. She was raising the expectations of her new life through the roof, which resulted in her reaction to her conscious husband being so horrific. In addition, Chopin uses another example of irony when she says, “When the doctors came by, they said she had died of heart disease...of joy that kills.” Chopin only lets the readers know how Mrs. Mallard truly felt about her husband's death, so when doctors say that she had died from too much joy when he returned, we know this is not true but quite the opposite. Mrs. Mallard died from disappointment and sadness because she knew her freshly gained freedom would be taken

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1275 Words | 6 Pages

At the end of the story Mallard dies, that is considered a situational irony, because the reader doesn't expect the death of Mrs. Mallard. Another irony from the story is the fact that the reader doesn't expect the feeling of excitement and joy from Mrs. Mallard's part of knowing from the death of her husband. An example of situational irony in the story is that Mrs. Mallard is “alive” “Brently Mallard is dead and Mrs. Mallard has fully become alive”. The message of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is about a woman's desire for freedom from marriage and thematically argues that oppression can ultimately be a killer. This message and situational irony emphazise that the rold of women in the 1800 during the time period of this story was that women had to stay at home, be housewives, do the laundry, and cook while men went out and worked to obtain money for their family.

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Her main character Mrs.Mallard was not very independent but not in a happily marriage. Women couldn’t do much without their husbands saying so. In the story, Mrs. Mallard's husband “dies” So she gets all happy and thinks she is finally free. The irony was when she thought she was free, her husband walks through the door.

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602 Words | 3 Pages

There are many throughout this story but I will only be talking about three of them. In paragraph 11 it states, “She said it over and over under her breathe: ‘free, free, free!’” (Chopin “The Story”). This was situational Irony because it is something that she did that you wouldn’t expect. One of the questions I asked myself while reading this sentence in this story is, “Why would she feel free if her husband just died?”

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The reader soon discovers, this feeling that comes to Mrs. Mallard is joy and relief, she feels this because she can now finally be her own person. Mrs. Mallard comes to the realization that her husband had been oppressing her for years, “There would be no powerful will bending..”, and she was finally free of that. Before the passing of her husband, Mrs. Mallard was scared of living a long life because of the treatment she received from him. After his passing she had a much different outlook, “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself.” This shows that Mrs. Mallard was excited to now live her own life without being told what she was to do.

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1206 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the story readers can see Mrs. Mallard being characterized through the ironic events. The story says, “And yet she had loved him - sometimes. Often she had not” (8). This shows how Mrs. Mallard cares for her husband but doesn’t enjoy the power he carries over her, which nobody in the story realizes. “She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities.

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898 Words | 4 Pages

Mallard. The two true themes of this story are loss and irony and Mrs. Mallard embodies both of these. The theme of loss is littered throughout this story; first Mrs. Mallard thinks that she has lost her husband; second she finds out that she has lost her new freedom, and finally Mr. Mallard loses his husband. While many readers may see Mrs. Mallard’s death as the greatest loss, Chopin’s writing suggests that it is instead the loss of new life that Mrs. Mallard has so quickly discovered. She had her entire new life planned out, and it all came crashing down within an hour.

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1096 Words | 5 Pages

Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the readers to contemplate a hidden meaning woven into the story line. Mr. Mallard is assumed to die in a railroad accident, leaving Mrs. Mallard devastated. Instead of feeling sadness or grief, Mrs. Mallard actually feels free. "There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. 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" (Page 499).

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Literary Analysis “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to the sudden death of her husband. Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as sad, yet happy that her husband has been killed. Kate Chopin’s “ The Story of an Hour” argues that when a person is controlled and made to live under another person their mental state of mind is affected. The story also argues that when that person is freed from the controlling person their true self can finally be achieved. Kate Chopin portrays these themes by the use of character development; plot control, and irony throughout the story.

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938 Words | 4 Pages

Upon learning of her husband 's death, Mrs. Mallard realizes and starts to believe that she is now free. Free to be herself and not worrying about anyone else. She repeats the words "Free, free, free!" and feels her body come alive. Her pulse beats faster; her blood runs warmer; her eyes brighten (paragraph 11). Mrs. Mallard sees the chance to live out the rest of her days for herself; she sees the opportunity to be her own person without a husband or anybody else to care for.

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558 Words | 3 Pages

" she kept whispering. The diction that is being used by Mrs.Mallard shows how she is actually feeling about the death of her husband. Mrs. Mallard feels as if she will be free now, freer than she was before since her husband’s death. This provides evidence of male dominance in a patriarchy through diction by Mrs.Mallard stating that she is ready to start a new life right after her husband passes away and the fact she states her body and soul are

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654 Words | 3 Pages

These examples are what makes her stories so realistic that readers almost feel a deep connection between the protagonists of Kate's short stories and their own life experiences. The Ironic events of “Desiree’s Baby,” and the tragic events found in “The Story of an Hour” result in a rather stimulating sensation, that in turn creates an experience unlike many short stories today. I believe this is the reason why Kate Chopin chooses to reflect upon her own life in her short stories, and what makes her such a respectable

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1267 Words | 6 Pages

Kate Chopin is the author of the most popular short story "The Story of an Hour". Chopin paints a bleak picture of marriage in this story. It is a short story focusing on a young married woman of the late nineteenth century as she reacts to the news that her husband has died in a train accident. The story was written in a time period when women did not really have right to express their feeling and desire. Women were supposed to stay home and take care of the family whereas the husbands went out to work.

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953 Words | 4 Pages

The Short Story The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin explores the emotions of Louise Mallard a woman with a heart disease. In the hour that the story is told, it ranges from showing Mrs. Mallard different reactions to learning of her husbands death to him surprisingly showing up alive and eventually her untimely death from a heart disease. Although only a brief period of time is shown, many emotions are revealed through the third person omniscient point of view. This point of view shows more than just the protagonists thoughts and is not limited to one person. It allows the readers to know something about Mrs. Mallard that she does not as the story ends after Mrs. Mallard has already died.

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770 Words | 4 Pages

Self-Identity and Freedom The story of an hour by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to her husband’s death. In this short story, Chopin portrays the complexity of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as she is saddened yet joyful of her loss. Kate Chopin’s story argues that an individual discovers their self-identity only after being freed from confinement.

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1094 Words | 5 Pages

Chopin’s story is short and she employs good writing techniques by avoiding flashbacks and background information. She uses a poetic writing style and repetition to highlight the most important parts in the story. For instance, the words open and free are used more

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