English 1302
Dr. Taylor
04/04/12
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
In 1894 Kate Chopin wrote her now most popular and well-known short story, “The Story of an Hour.” Kate Chopin is popularly recognized by the use of her unpredictable dark irony. "Probably equally clear to all or to most readers are Chopin 's economy, the significance of the open window and the spring setting, the power which she assigns to "self-assertion," and the bold dramatic irony with which the story concludes"(Deneau). The story has several main characters, but it particularly revolved around the tragic death of Brently Mallard, Louise Mallard’s husband. After first receiving the tragic news, Louise was completely devastated, but after spending the next day alone she realized that she was torn between the sadness of the loss of her husband and the joy of being free from him. Chopin conveys this mood through the use of characterization, symbolism, and the irony that occurs …show more content…
Obviously something was deeply wrong with their relationship for Louise to have acted the way she did. This was Chopin 's way of telling the world that the lack of freedom women had at the time was oppressive.
Works Cited
Deneau, Daniel P. "Chopin 's THE STORY OF AN HOUR." Explicator 61.4 (2003): 210-213. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
Jamil, S. Selina. "Emotions in the Story of an Hour." Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215-220. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.
Shen, Dan. "Non-Ironic Turning Ironic Contextually: Multiple Context-Determined Irony In “The Story Of An Hour”." Journal Of Literary Semantics 38.2 (2009): 115-130. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
"The Story of an Hour" Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.