“When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.” This is the most ironic and final line in Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. Story of an Hour tells the story of Mrs. Mallard, a woman who recently found her husband died in a train accident, final hour alive. After hearing the news of her husband death, Mrs. Mallard goes to her bedroom to grieve, but realizes the freedom she now has from his death. This new found freedom is shortly lived when she finally realizes her husband is not actually dead. I am going to demonstrate the literary devices irony and symbolism is used in this story.
Story of an Hour a great example of irony showcased in a story. The final line of the story says that Mrs. Mallard “died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.” The irony is in which it is actually sadness and not joy that killed her. She died from the realization that the joy she saw from her window is now gone. The thought of being free and independent is what actually killed her. If she wasn’t happy with the death of her husband, then finding out he was alive wo...
Situational irony is used in "The Story of an Hour" through Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death and the description of the settings around her at this time. Upon hearing the news of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard "wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment". It appeared to everyone that as a result of her husband's death, Mrs. Mallard was incredibly sad. She insisted upon being alone and retreated to her room. The sort of reaction she had seems like one typical to someone who had just lost a loved one.
“Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin unveils a widow named Mrs. Louise Mallard in which gets the news of her husband’s death yet, the audience would think she would feel sorrowful, depressed, and dispirited in the outcome her reaction is totally unusual. Meanwhile, day after day as time has gone by Mrs. Mallard slowly comes to a strange realization which alters a new outlook over her husband's death. "And yet she had loved him- sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!" (Chopin, 2). The actuality that she finds a slight bit of happiness upon the death of a person who particularly is so close to her is completely unraveling w...
There are a couple of examples of situational irony that is apparent throughout “Story of an Hour“. Mr. Mallard being dead is one. The messenger comes and says that there was a train crash and Mr. Mallard was in it. Mr. Mallard is indeed not dead but we think he is but at the end he comes walking in the door. Another example is that Louise dies and Mr. Mallard lives. Louise finally feels free and she is now happy to live a long life only just a few days ago she was worried life was going to be too long. An example of both situational and dramatic irony is when Louise’s sister, Josephine is worried that she is up in her room making herself sick and wearing down on her weak heart. In truth Louise is in her room being thoughtful of how her life will be more wonderful with her husband gone. It is also clear that dramatic irony is a part of the story. Louise dies from the shock of seeing her husband who is supposed to be dead. The doctors say she died from "the joy that kills." The reader knows Louise was the furthest thing from joy when she saw Mr. Mallard. When Louise got the news of her husband’s death she started crying at once in her sisters arms. What her sister, Josephine did not know is that Louise was crying out of happiness that she was finally free of her mundane, mediocre life chained down...
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.
Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, is about a woman, named Louise Mallard, in the late 1800s who is told that her husband, Brently, has died in a railroad accident. Initially, Louise is surprised, distressed, and drowned in sorrow. After mourning the loss, the woman realizes that she is finally free and independent, and that the only person she has to live for is herself. She becomes overwhelmed with joy about her new discovery of freedom, and dreams of all of the wonderful events in life that lie ahead of her. Louise’s sister finally convinces her to leave her room and come back into reality. While Louise is walking down her steps, her husband surprisingly enters through the door because he was actually not killed in the accident. At the same moment, Louise collapses and dies, supposedly from “heart disease-of joy that kills” (Chopin 706).
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin symbolizes the irony of bitter joy by displaying the reader with a woman who is liberated that her husband has died. This is portrayed by Louise’s emotions as she alternates between numbness and joy at her new freedom due to the sudden death of her husband. The narrator describes Louise as sad and weeping, yet warmed and relaxed. No reasons are given to why she was not grief stricken and why she did not feel free in the first place. In this essay, I will explain my views and opinions of why Mrs. Ballard’s emotions were not conventional, why she felt free after the news of her husband’s death, and the irony behind her death in the end.
A very dull and boring story can be made into a great story simply by adding in something that is unexpected to happen. When the unexpected is used in literature it is known as irony. An author uses irony to shock the reader by adding a twist to the story. The author of “The Story of an Hour” is Kate Chopin. Her use of irony in the story is incredibly done more than once. Irony is thinking or believing some event will happen but in return the unexpected or opposite occurs. Kate Chopin uses two types of irony in this short story. Situational irony refers to the opposite of what is supposed to happen, and dramatic irony occurs when the audience or reader knows something that the rest of the characters in the story do not know. Kate Chopin does a great job in placing irony into this short story and makes the reader understand that the unexpected happens in life.
The “Story of an hour” is a short story written by Kate Chopin is a very heart tugging story about a woman with heart trouble, Mrs. Mallard. Who had received terrible news about her husband’s passing caused by a train wreck. After receiving such news from Josephine and Richard Mrs. Mallard hurried off to her room to grieve alone, but also to find herself where we see now her feelings have mutated into somewhat of happiness. Ultimately, Mr. Mallard death was fallacy, but it was to late Mrs. Mallard died “of joy that kills”. The short
The use of irony is integral to the plot of "The Story of and Hour" by Kate Chopin. Situational irony is used to surprise the reader and add an interesting twist to Mrs. Mallard's discovery of her husband's death. Dramatic irony is used to give the reader insight into Mrs. Mallard's situation. The use of irony serves to make the story more interesting and the ending becomes a complete surprise to the reader.
Several symbols in Kate Chopin's "Story of an Hour" create a feeling of comfort, wellness, and wonderfulness within the reader's mind. The first symbol I will speak of is the "comfortable chair" which she sinks into after the news of her husbands' death. Then, I will speak of the open window, which she sits in front of through which she sees many symbols of things that are good. Finally, I will speak of the description of Mrs. Mallard herself and her comfortable situation, which will tie together all the symbols that create the feelings of comfort and wellness in the reader.
In "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin tells the story of a woman, Mrs. Mallard, whose husband is thought to be dead. Throughout the story, Chopin describes the emotions Mrs. Mallard felt about the news of her husband's death. However, the strong emotions she felt were not despair or sadness, they were something else. In a way, she was relieved more than she was upset, and almost rejoiced in the thought of her husband no longer living. In using different literary elements throughout the story, Chopin conveys this to us on more than one occasion.
Kate Chopin’s brilliant, well-put short story, “The story of an hour” basis around Mrs. Millard who is married to her spouse Mr. Millard and is appeared to be dead by the news that Richard and Josephine brought.
Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour is a brilliant short story of irony and emotion. The story demonstrates conflicts that take us through the character’s emotions as she finds out about the death of her husband. Without the well written series of conflicts and events this story, the reader would not understand the depth of Mrs. Mallard’s inner conflict and the resolution at the end of the story. The conflict allows us to follow the emotions and unfold the irony of the situation in “The Story of an Hour.”
Irony can often be found in many literary works. “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is masterfully written full of irony. The characters of the short story, Mrs. Mallard, Josephine, Richards, Mr. Brently Mallard, and the doctors all find their way into Chopin’s ironic twists. Chopin embodies various ironies in “The Story of an Hour” through representations of verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.
In the short story of "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, it opens on the news that Mrs. Mallard's husband, Brently Mallard, had died in a railroad accident: "Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death" (Chopin 1). Not much about the protagonist is known except that she has heart trouble. The tone of hesitation and sadness in the story is set within the first sentence along with an uneasiness about Mrs. Mallard's condition.