Story Of An Hour Dramatic Irony Analysis

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In the short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, you come across many cases of irony. The story is full of different types of ironic situations. Situational and dramatic irony are visible all throughout the story. It is important to have irony in a story because it makes the readers stop and think about what they have just read or to understand the meaning of the story.
The first example of irony we see is when Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband’s death. Since Mrs. Mallard is suffering from the sudden tragic loss of her husband, you would think that she would be sad and see everything in a dull tone, but in the story “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breathe of rain in the air” (Chopin) pg.653. Mrs. Mallard felt free, and a sense of comfort due to losing her husband. She wanted to grieve about her husband, but “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully … she felt it creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.” Mrs. Mallard ironically feels a sense of relief after learning of her husband’s death. This event in the story is an example of a dramatic irony. After learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard tried to push back the feelings that were
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The only way Mrs. Mallard would be able to escape her marriage would be through the death of her husband. When Mrs. Mallard locked herself in her room, Josephine thought she was making herself ill, but in reality it was the opposite. Louise tells Josephine to “Go away, I am not making myself ill.” (Chopin). No, Mrs. Mallard was drinking in a very elixir of life through her open window. Mrs. Mallard realized she could finally live for herself again. A few days before learning of her husband’s death she would shudder at the thought of a long life, but now she prayed for