Irony of The Story of an Hour In The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin uses contextual symbolism and irony to criticize American societal oppression of married women during the nineteenth century. It is also important to note Chopin’s prolific use of labyrinthine language and elusive wording to cause her audience to augment on all the veiled meanings portrayed within her short story. Chopin’s most cleverly masked weapon used is the teasing language contrived to tempt the audience to make assumptions. As stated by Gary Mayer in his Sematic Analyses of Five Kate Chopin Stories, making assumptions normally causes no harm, however the dangers of inference is consequently shown to result in tragedy within The Story of an Hour (94). The first line
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“There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.” Chopin is the most direct here when explaining how it is a crime to take the freedom of a lover, which is the act of marriage during her time …show more content…
As exemplified, “Free! Body and soul free!” is irony shown in how the news of her husband’s death was given to her in the beginning of the story with such care and broken sentences. Louise seems to be taking the news quite well. Louise later celebrates her new found freedom and lets her imagination “running riot along those . . . spring days, and summer days” and “breathed a quick prayer that life might be long” which ironically ends up not being long lived after all and demonstrates irony in how it, “suggests that Brently’s death has given Louise the will to live” (Durrer 105). And yet her society establishes this natural world of emotions as an illness. The passion that thrives in Louise is now implied as the ailment rather than her “heart trouble.” “Louise, open the door! . . . you will make yourself ill.” This line symbolizes Josephine, her sister and fellow woman on this earth, as societies view on a woman’s self assertion, considering it an illness. After drinking in the life through the open window for a while longer, Louise comes out and begins to descend the stairs. In the final scene Brently comes back from the dead, arriving to “Josephine’s piercing cry” and “Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.” Chopin releases all control she has as an author here and allows us to assume many different
“There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature.” Chopin is the most direct here when explaining how it is a crime to take the freedom of a lover, which is the act of marriage during her time …show more content…
As exemplified, “Free! Body and soul free!” is irony shown in how the news of her husband’s death was given to her in the beginning of the story with such care and broken sentences. Louise seems to be taking the news quite well. Louise later celebrates her new found freedom and lets her imagination “running riot along those . . . spring days, and summer days” and “breathed a quick prayer that life might be long” which ironically ends up not being long lived after all and demonstrates irony in how it, “suggests that Brently’s death has given Louise the will to live” (Durrer 105). And yet her society establishes this natural world of emotions as an illness. The passion that thrives in Louise is now implied as the ailment rather than her “heart trouble.” “Louise, open the door! . . . you will make yourself ill.” This line symbolizes Josephine, her sister and fellow woman on this earth, as societies view on a woman’s self assertion, considering it an illness. After drinking in the life through the open window for a while longer, Louise comes out and begins to descend the stairs. In the final scene Brently comes back from the dead, arriving to “Josephine’s piercing cry” and “Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.” Chopin releases all control she has as an author here and allows us to assume many different