Ironies in The Story of an Hour

This is the story of Mrs. Mallard, a woman with a heart condition who finds out her husband has died in a train accident. She reacts with sadness at first, but after seeking solitude, realizes that she is free. She is ready to begin her new life when her husband, who was not involved in the train accident, comes home alive. The woman dies from heart failure on the spot.

The purpose of irony in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is to convey a message without saying it explicitly. In the context that the story was written, at the end of the 19th century, woman were often not allowed many rights. Their role in society was trifling compared to what men had. Chopin, a feminist ahead of her time, uses irony in this particular story to show the unequal role women had in relationships in the late 1800's. Mrs. Mallard's discovery of her long lost freedom and desire to live for herself only comes after her husband's death. The ironi

. . .
As she looks out of the window, she sees spring and all the new life it brings. The first type of irony encountered is situational irony, where there is a contrast between what is expected to happen in a particular situation and what actually happens. After grieving with "wild abandonment" the death of her husband, Mrs. Brently Mallard "had never looked save with love upon her. Mallard clarifies that their relationship is one of love. In contrast, the reader knows that the love she had for her husband pales in comparison to the joy she feels upon the discovery of her newfound freedom. Now the reader starts to see the world through her eyes, a world full of new and pure life. As for the weather, instead of being gloomy and dark to symbolize death, she sees "patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds. " And likewise, "she knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death. Regardless of the love she has for her husband Brently Mallard, the problem she sees is the unequal relationship in which one individual exercises their "powerful will" on the other. It is ironic to see that it took Brently Mallard's death for Louise to realize that she was not "Body and soul free!" It seems as if she finds personal strength in her husband's death, ready to face the world as a whole person. " She also mentions that birds are singing and there is a "delicious breath of rain" in the air, all images not usually associated with death. Once Louise Mallard recognizes her desire to live for herself, desire that her marriage will not grant her, her heart will not allow her to turn back.

Common topics in this essay:
Story Chopin, Kate Chopin, Chopin's Story, Brently Mallard, Louise Mallard, Brently Mallard's, Louise Mallard's, Mallard Louise, love husband, Word Count, husband's death, train accident, window spring, 19th century, spring life, louise mallard, irony contrast, story mallard, free free, window spring life,

Approximate Word count = 821
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Already a member? Click here