Richard Cory, By Kate Chopin
The beauty of literature is that the author can employ whatever device he sees fit to entertain and hopefully provoke meaningful thought within the reader. What the reader might expect to happen often times can be correct, but many times the author will use irony to completely change the outcome of a story. The use of irony will pout to bed any assumptions that the reader has made while reading the story and will most often occur at the end of the story itself. Often times the author is trying to convey their own personal stance on an issue by using irony. “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin 307). “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin begins as bluntly as it ends. The reader knows
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that Louise Mallard has heart problems, so from the very first sentence, one knows what to expect from the end of the story. Bentley Mallard was supposedly dead, and the shock of this news cause Louise to retreat to her room for the majority of the story’s “hour” to reflect on the situation; concluding that she is, indeed, free from her relationship, and will live a happier life because of it. When Mr. Mallard walks through the front door completely unharmed and unaware of the train accident that was supposed to have killed him, the final sentence of the story sums up the situational irony within: “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills” (308). The doctors in the story insist that Mrs. Mallard died of a heart attack that was due to the joy of seeing her husband alive. However, the reader knows that the death was caused, not by the joy but by the loss thereof. Mrs. Mallard was so disappointed in seeing her husband alive and thereby losing her newfound freedom, that she died. The stance of Chopin toward the institution of marriage becomes quite apparent in this story, that is, Chopin views marriage as a binding thing that completely takes away the freedom of those who submit to it. Chopin is speaking of marriage in very negative light, so much so that the main character literally dies when she discovers that her husband is still living. Due to this situation, the following question is raised But due to the situation, the question is raised, “Is Louise a normal, understandable, sympathetic woman or is she an egocentric, selfish monster or anomaly?” (Deneau 210). It is quite possible that Louise was always wishing that her husband was dead and that she could be free, but the more likely answer is that she simply, did not realize that she was bound by marriage until she was free of it. The story of the titular Richard Cory which is given in the poem Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson is that of a tremendously wealthy man living in an era of poverty and depression.
Richard is described as “richer than a king” (line 9), however despite his wealth, “he was always quietly arrayed,/And he was always human when he talked” (5-6). This indicates that Cory was a very “down-to-earth” person, and did not see himself as better than anybody else. It was assumed by all of the townspeople that admired Richard that he had it all; that he had no more to gain and was perfectly content. The two ending lines would beg to differ. “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,/Went home and put a bullet through his head” (15-16). The irony of the poe being that Cory was very discontent and—although not directly stated—was probably lonely due to the isolation that was brought on by his wealth. Robinson, through Richard Cory, is providing a commentary on the uselessness of money as an abdicator of happiness. On the outside, it was as though Richard Cory had everything in the world, but the wealth of the physical body does not necessarily indicate wealth of the
heart. Ranging from topics of love and marriage to that of depression, loneliness, and suicide, the writer has many can have many issues to discuss, and irony an be one of the many possible vehicles to express these ideas. Through irony, writers can insert within their works, the great social commentaries that might cause the reader to really think about and consider the world around them.
that Louise Mallard has heart problems, so from the very first sentence, one knows what to expect from the end of the story. Bentley Mallard was supposedly dead, and the shock of this news cause Louise to retreat to her room for the majority of the story’s “hour” to reflect on the situation; concluding that she is, indeed, free from her relationship, and will live a happier life because of it. When Mr. Mallard walks through the front door completely unharmed and unaware of the train accident that was supposed to have killed him, the final sentence of the story sums up the situational irony within: “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills” (308). The doctors in the story insist that Mrs. Mallard died of a heart attack that was due to the joy of seeing her husband alive. However, the reader knows that the death was caused, not by the joy but by the loss thereof. Mrs. Mallard was so disappointed in seeing her husband alive and thereby losing her newfound freedom, that she died. The stance of Chopin toward the institution of marriage becomes quite apparent in this story, that is, Chopin views marriage as a binding thing that completely takes away the freedom of those who submit to it. Chopin is speaking of marriage in very negative light, so much so that the main character literally dies when she discovers that her husband is still living. Due to this situation, the following question is raised But due to the situation, the question is raised, “Is Louise a normal, understandable, sympathetic woman or is she an egocentric, selfish monster or anomaly?” (Deneau 210). It is quite possible that Louise was always wishing that her husband was dead and that she could be free, but the more likely answer is that she simply, did not realize that she was bound by marriage until she was free of it. The story of the titular Richard Cory which is given in the poem Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson is that of a tremendously wealthy man living in an era of poverty and depression.
Richard is described as “richer than a king” (line 9), however despite his wealth, “he was always quietly arrayed,/And he was always human when he talked” (5-6). This indicates that Cory was a very “down-to-earth” person, and did not see himself as better than anybody else. It was assumed by all of the townspeople that admired Richard that he had it all; that he had no more to gain and was perfectly content. The two ending lines would beg to differ. “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,/Went home and put a bullet through his head” (15-16). The irony of the poe being that Cory was very discontent and—although not directly stated—was probably lonely due to the isolation that was brought on by his wealth. Robinson, through Richard Cory, is providing a commentary on the uselessness of money as an abdicator of happiness. On the outside, it was as though Richard Cory had everything in the world, but the wealth of the physical body does not necessarily indicate wealth of the
heart. Ranging from topics of love and marriage to that of depression, loneliness, and suicide, the writer has many can have many issues to discuss, and irony an be one of the many possible vehicles to express these ideas. Through irony, writers can insert within their works, the great social commentaries that might cause the reader to really think about and consider the world around them.