“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a tightly written short story that takes place within a single hour of Mrs. Louise Mallard’s seemingly unsatisfying and oppressive marriage. Although the story is no more than two pages long, one should not look down upon the shortness of the story, but instead read in amazement at how packed such a small piece of literature is. Reading through it once may stumble the reader and seem a bit confusing, but reading through it several more times will enlighten the reader to underlying messages, themes, and the true feelings of Mrs. Mallard. The major theme the story revolves around is the oppressive views of marriage that the main character, Mrs. Mallard, experiences within the latter part of the 19 century,
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Mallard and her feelings. For instance, when Richards and Josephine brief Mrs. Mallard about the death of her husband, “she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment in her sister’s arms” (Chopin 476) and then proceeds upstairs after “the storm of grief spent itself” (Chopin 476) while refusing the aid of her sister. Certainly, it seems to Josephine that her sister is so heartbroken and grief-stricken about her husband’s death that she must be alone to contemplate the situation at hand and collect herself. Instead, one will realize that Mrs. Mallard is, instead, the opposite of the grief-stricken and depressed Victorian housewife, but is truly retreating upstairs to comprehend and cherish her newly found freedom from marriage. Furthermore, in the later part of the story, Josephine begs "Louise, open the door! You will make yourself ill” (Chopin 477). Although Josephine is not aware of “this thing” (Chopin 477) that has just approached her sister, making for Mrs. Mallard to have “keen and bright eyes” which made “her pulses beat fast” and “warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (477), it is now clear to the reader that Mrs. Mallard feels a sense freedom, joy, and excitement in the death of her husband as she drinks “in the very elixir of life” (477). The way that dramatic irony affects “The Story of an Hour” is very important since the reader is constantly aware of Mrs. Mallard’s true feelings towards her marriage while the minor characters, like Richards and Josephine, take to it as if Mrs. Mallard is truly in mourning and in
Mallard and her feelings. For instance, when Richards and Josephine brief Mrs. Mallard about the death of her husband, “she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment in her sister’s arms” (Chopin 476) and then proceeds upstairs after “the storm of grief spent itself” (Chopin 476) while refusing the aid of her sister. Certainly, it seems to Josephine that her sister is so heartbroken and grief-stricken about her husband’s death that she must be alone to contemplate the situation at hand and collect herself. Instead, one will realize that Mrs. Mallard is, instead, the opposite of the grief-stricken and depressed Victorian housewife, but is truly retreating upstairs to comprehend and cherish her newly found freedom from marriage. Furthermore, in the later part of the story, Josephine begs "Louise, open the door! You will make yourself ill” (Chopin 477). Although Josephine is not aware of “this thing” (Chopin 477) that has just approached her sister, making for Mrs. Mallard to have “keen and bright eyes” which made “her pulses beat fast” and “warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (477), it is now clear to the reader that Mrs. Mallard feels a sense freedom, joy, and excitement in the death of her husband as she drinks “in the very elixir of life” (477). The way that dramatic irony affects “The Story of an Hour” is very important since the reader is constantly aware of Mrs. Mallard’s true feelings towards her marriage while the minor characters, like Richards and Josephine, take to it as if Mrs. Mallard is truly in mourning and in