What Is The Irony In The Story Of An Hour

In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, one of the greatest events of irony unfolds within a single hour. Mrs.Mallard (the main character) is unaware of her husband’s death due to her heart troubles. Her sister and her husband’s friend gently brake the news to her without her becoming sick, and she rushes to a nearby room to grieve alone. Her sister worries she will become sick, but Mrs.Mallard experiences her first taste of freedom because she is no longer held by the chains of marriage. When Mrs.Mallard finally opens the room door, the apartment door opens and Mr.Mallard walks in causing Mrs.Mallard to die from shock. Even though this all takes place in an hour, three main examples of irony take place in the story. These main

Immediately after she was made aware of the tragic death, she felt the normal emotions that are associated with grief. After the initial shock wore off, Mrs.Mallard began to think of what her life will be like soon, without her husband. During the time she spent thinking, she realized she would no longer be tied down by the bond of marriage. Mrs.Mallard began to feel relief and joy after she realized she would be free once again. She can relax, have fun, and enjoy life now that she is freed from the responsibilities of marriage. This is a form of irony because she feels emotions many people don’t feel after the death of a loved one and because as the reader will learn, Mr.Mallard isn’t

After Mr.Mallard walks into the room, where he is visible to everyone in the apartment, Mrs.Mallard drops dead. The sudden change from her husband being dead, to him walking into the room alive without warning, had caused her heart troubles to fall over the edge. When the doctor examined her, he concluded she died of a heart attack that was triggered by the events that happened in the short span of an hour. The last line of the story ends with the doctor saying “the joy that kills”. This is considered irony because Mrs.Mallard died from her husband being alive instead of her husband being dead. Her sister, and the reader, were under the impression Mrs.Mallard was clear and would not experience any heart trouble because she felt