Theme Of Irony In The Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin’s use of irony in “The Story of an Hour” is quite clever in the way she allows it to flow ever so smoothly with the story’s plot. Situational, verbal, and dramatic irony are all three used in Chopin’s work. It is a story that is built around the hour of which Mrs. Louise Mallard learns of Bently’s, her husband, presumed death and everything that follows leading up to her own demise. “The Story of an Hour” is not about just any hour, as you will see, but of Mrs. Mallard’s final. In short, irony can be defined as “saying one thing and meaning another” (Wheeler). There are several different forms of irony, three of which are prevalent throughout “The Story of an Hour.” First, there is situational irony, which is defined as “a trope

In fact, Chopin’s use of verbal irony in the beginning could be argued that it encompasses the entire theme of the story. In the short story, the narrator says “Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble” (Chopin 1). However, the narrator does not mean the literal heart, but rather her soul. Mrs. Mallard is troubled in her mind, body, and soul. She is afflicted due to her loveless marriage. She does not feel as though she is able to be her own person and to truly live her life due to the tyranny of her husband. The story makes way to show the lack of unconditional love that Mrs. Mallard has towards her husband, which further proves Mrs. Mallard has faced grave heartache from the repression Mr. Mallard placed upon her. She does not view Bently Mallard as her lover and partner, but rather as her dictator and

Mallard, is making herself sick from despair. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door—you will make yourself ill” (Chopin 17). Josephine believes Mrs. Mallard is so distraught with grief of her husband’s death. She fears her sister has locked herself in her room and is inconsolably heartbroken. The audience knows that to be far from the truth. Mrs. Mallard locks herself in her room to stare out the window and ponder at what her life will be like without the domination of her husband. “Free! Body and soul free” (Chopin 16)! Mrs. Mallard is not sorrowing, but instead she is quietly rejoicing her new found freedom. The one thing she did not have with Mr. Mallard alive was precisely that, her