Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

“The Story of an Hour” is a controversial story written by Kate Chopin. It has impeccable narrative and reveals that not all women were the same in her time period, which is also true for the current time period. Some women found a new life in the death of their husbands, and this could not be any more apparent than in “The Story of an Hour.” In “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses two versions of irony, two counts of dramatic and one of situational, to show Mrs. Mallard’s renewal of life.
First, Chopin uses a powerful irony, dramatic irony. The first instance of irony is found in the sixteenth paragraph when Josephine is desperately trying to get Mrs. Louise Mallard to open the door. By her saying, “‘I beg;open the door-you will make yourself ill,’” the reader can gather the irony because Louise is not making herself ill, but rather drinking the elixir of life that is freedom. When Louise is in her room, she is becoming aware of her newborn freedom. By the reader knowing this and Josephine being ignorant of it this becomes dramatic irony.
Furthermore, the dramatic irony of Mrs.
Mallard’s sad story strikes again, even after her death. The second instance of irony can be found at the very end of “The Story of an Hour,” when the doctors are diagnosing what caused her death in the final paragraph. When the doctor's final diagnosis of her death is, “joy that kills,” the reader can observe the irony dripping off the page. The reader knows it was the fall from freedom that killed her, but the characters believe it to be the great relief of her husband’s life. With his new life in the eyes of the characters, Louise finds ultimate death, loss of new found freedom. It was his life that brought her death, making this dramatic
irony.
Moving right along, the final case of irony, this time situational irony, hits right at home, literally! The third instance of irony can be found in the twentieth paragraph when Chopin writes, “Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard.” This is a very apparent case of irony because the reader is aware of Mr. Mallard’s life, but the rest of the characters have yet to find out. At the beginning of the story Mr. Mallard is assumed dead, but now, in this situation, the reader finds him alive and well, without a scratch. This is ironic also because, as mentioned before, his new found life will soon take his wife’s new found freedom, causing her death. Since Mr. Mallard was considered dead, it was assumed impossible for him to be alive, making this situational irony.
Aforementioned, “The Story of an Hour” is one of Kate Chopin’s best stories. With it’s powerful message and dramatic narrative, it is easy to see how this story has become so popular among the generations to follow her. Even though the story took place over just an hour, the irony of “The Story of an Hour” has transcended time by the use of the two major ironies: dramatic and situational.