The facts we know are that Mr. Mallard is at work because he is feared to have perished on the job. We can also deduce that it is in the afternoon because Mr. Mallard arrives home after work, oblivious to the fact that Louise believes he had died tragically. The entire story takes place in a one-hour window of time.
The mood in "The Story of an Hour" is mostly pessimistic. Louise realizes that she feels shackled by her husband. Her opportunity to reflect on her marriage and life, causes her to be saddened. She ultimately desires freedom and is overjoyed when she comes to the realization that her life could change for the better. Although the tone is sad due to the possible death of her husband, we learn that the real sadness comes from the oppression that Louise feels in her marriage.
The exposition Chopin created, was a true sense of normalcy in this short story. With this normalcy came certain expectations, for example, that the main character Louise had a normal, healthy and loving relationship with her husband Brently. These expectations are destroyed when the true intention and irony of the story is revealed to the reader. Louise in fact, thought that she would actually be happier without her husband and may have died from the dread she felt when Brently appeared at the end of the