Story Of An Hour Irony Essay

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In this short story, “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin uses irony to demonstrate that freedom can be taken away in as little as an hour. She had just learned that her husband has supposedly died and is grieving to the point of blank stares and silence. She accepts his death and goes on to think of how her life can be now that he is out of the picture. However, her husband comes back home safe and sound causing her to collapse into death. The end of the story was unexpected and may contradict both Li Chongyue and Wang Lihua’s thoughts about “the joy that kills” (Chopin). They seemed to think that it was really about her joy of being separate from her husband in death. Mrs. Mallard mourns for her husband. However, thoughts of freedom and relief enter into her mind about his death. This begins the irony because …show more content…
She was in a state of shock and her mind was awry. She may have mentioned that he made her feel trapped and controlled but we can’t blame her. Her physical state is a complete mess because she has a serious heart condition and her thoughts were immoral. Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” with the use of irony, deeply portrayed how freedom can be taken away in as little as an hour. The freedom that she had gained was from her husband. However, “the joy that kills” was not about her happiness for her separation from her husband. Although the critics may feel that way, Mrs. Mallard’s state of mind was not right. She sat motionless staring out the windows and her deepest darkest thoughts were coming to her. I truly believe that when she saw her husband alive and well, she was happy to see his face and her heart just couldn’t take the joy that she was

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