The Use Of Irony In 'The Storm And A Respectable Woman'

Kate Chopin was a well known American writer. She was known for being the first feminist novelist. In her writing Kate Chopin uses two main characteristics throughout her writing: irony and foreshadowing. In three of her short stories “The Story of An Hour”, “The Storm” and “A Respectable Woman” foreshadowing and irony are easy to spot. These characteristics are what make Chopin stories so special. What is irony? According to “Cambridge English Dictionary”, irony is “a trip of usually humorous expression in which you say the opposite of what you intend.” Chopin uses irony in her stories to humor the reader. Usually the irony has something to do with how a main character feels towards another character. What is foreshadowing? According

This time the irony is with the character Alce. He writes to his wife after his encounter with Calixta. This encounter was filled with lust. Both of them were married and had kids but together in the house during the storm they came together kissing and touching. In the second to last paragraph Alce writes to his wife saying how he hoped she was enjoying her time away with the children and not to hurry back that he could try and handle them being a part for awhile. The irony in this is that he is stuck on Calixta and wants to see her again rather then his wife. His wife reader the letter but the reader finds out in the last paragraph that “Devoted as she was to her husband, their intimate conjugal life was something which she was more than willing to forego for awhile” (The Storm). In her response to the letter the reader finds out that his wife is actually okay with not being with him for awhile. In the twenty second paragraph the reader gets a sense of foreshadowing. Alce tells Calixta “don’t be frightened. Nothing can happen.” talking about the storm (The Storm). Although, he was referring to the storm it also seems like a foreshadow for whats about to happen between