...Submitted by: Shambhavi Eng (H) III year 334 Comment on the irony of The Story of an Hour. Kate Chopin is most famous for her short stories and a novel, The Awakening. One of the most recurring themes in her works is marriage and how it affects women. She wrote works of feminist nature before the feminist movement had even begun. The Story of an Hour is a short story centred on a young married woman as she reacts to the news of the death of her husband. It covers the one hour of Louise Mallard’s life, in which she is told of her husband’s death, deals with it, realises that she is free, finds happiness and freedom, loses it and dies. Mrs Mallard was afflicted with a “heart trouble” and so, the news of her husband’s death was broken to her gently. Her immediate reaction was to weep with “sudden wild abandonment” and then later, she goes up to her room to be alone. There she comes to terms with the realisation of her freedom and experiences great joy. When she finally goes downstairs, she sees her husband walking in through the door and dies of a heart attack which, the doctor’s said, was brought on by the joy of seeing her husband alive. The irony here is that the heart attack was brought on not by the joy of seeing her husband alive, but by the loss of the joy of freedom, on seeing her husband alive. Once the news that Mr Mallard is dead reaches Mrs Mallard, the “true woman” inside her, the wife, the “Angel in the house” part of her, dies along with him...
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...Ironies of Story of an Hour In the short story, "Story of an Hour" by author Kate Chopin, she uses many different types of literary elements to define her story clearly and to show the significance behind what happens in the story. The primary literary element that was used in the story that is the most prominent is irony. Two kinds of irony that were utilized in this short story. The first one is situational irony, which means the reader is expecting something to happen, but it doesn't actually happen. The second irony is dramatic irony which is used to suggest to the reader in on something that is going on that the characters are unaware. These two ironies add to a surprising ending. "Story of an Hour" was written in 1894 and is about a woman, Mrs. Mallard, who just received news from her sister, Josephine and her husbands friend Richards that her husband has died in a "railroad disaster" (par. 2). Reader's expect Mrs. Mallard's reaction and feelings are expected to be one way, but yet we discover an unexpected surprise. This is the first of situational ironies throughout the story. As Mrs. Mallard heard the news of her husbands untimely death the reader's expected her to react a certain way, but in fact "she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same" (par. 3). After grieving with "wild abandonment" (par. 3) of her late husband's death, Mrs. Mallard seeks solitude in her room. As she gazes out the open window she sinks down into her chair she takes in the...
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...could sneak up to the window that looks into her office and from a certain angle I can see her without her ever seeing me. I can see her face and her expressions as she types away on her typewriter and if I look very closely I can see the words she so carefully types. Today, I sneak back up to the window and I see Ms. Chopin laughing. She must be done with whatever it was she was doing. She is not finished; she is still typing away. Some fellow detective friends of mine have been doing investigations similar to mine and they have told me that these laughs that come out of nowhere most likely have to with irony. She must be writing an ironic story, after all, those stories are the only ones people seem to be interested in right now. It seems that the title of her work is Story of an Hour. Kate Chopin’s short story contains dramatic and situational irony, which serve to make the story unique and keep the readers on the edges of their seats waiting for what happens next. My following report proves my findings. The following night I waited for Ms. Chopin to go to bed. I waited exactly 40 minutes after she turned out her lights to carefully sneak in through the kitchen door. Moving carefully and quietly, I entered her office. It seemed quite different from inside; the room was narrower, the walls were not as bright without the sun shining on them, and the floor tiles seemed quite old. I started looking for the papers that would help me conclude my investigation and I found them neatly...
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...Wangping121201116 Selected Readings in British and American Literature HanQiqun June,08,2015 Irony Analysis of the story of an hour Guerin concludes that the formalistic critic deals with irony and paradox，with symbols and with the tensions that result from multiple interactions within the organic form of the literary piece.( Guerin 118) "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin is a short story that there is a "deeper level of irony in the story" in it. The short story expresses what happened to Louise Mallard after hearing of her husband Brently’s death in a railroad disaster. Since Mrs. Mallard suffers has heart problems, her sister Josephine told her the horrific news in a gentle way. After crying for a while, she went to her room alone and locked herself there. She should have been mournful and hopeless because of her husband’s death. However, she felt somewhat excited and frenzy. "Free! Body and soul free!" is what she really got from his death. After she accepted her husband’s death and realized she was free then, her husband came back safely. Finally she died. Although she died from the shock of seeing her living husband, the doctor said she was killed by joy. Though Chopin sympathizes the heroine, she puts bitter irony on her, meanwhile her attitude to the independent freedom is contradictory.(周亚萍 221）From the above introduction some perfect examples of irony use can be easily found. Here are the analysis of two of them. One is that Josephine was...
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...“The Story of an Hour” is a short story, written by Kate Chopin, which conveys the heavy use of irony and symbolism to express the feelings of the main character, Louise Mallard, as she deals with the sudden loss of her husband. Published in 1894, “The Story of an Hour” portrays a young woman who has learned of the death of her husband and is then overcome with a series of different emotions as the story progresses (Chopin). Evident in the story, the symbols portray a wide array of meaning as it describes the feeling of freedom that overcomes Louise as she begins to realize that the death of her husband is more of a blessing than a tragedy. Furthermore, the feelings that Louise begins to feel after she has come to her realization are apparent through the...
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...March 8th,2016 A very dull and boring story can be made into a great story simply by adding in something that is unexpected to happen. When the unexpected is used in literature it is known as irony. An author uses irony to shock the reader by adding a twist to the story. In “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” both by Kate Chopin and her use of irony in the story is incredibly done more than once. Kate Chopin does a great job in placing irony into this short story and makes the reader understand that the unexpected happens in life. Kate's story is based on the idea that marriage in the late 19th century was viewed as oppressive. This was based on the fact that in the late 19th century woman had few rights in the public eye and their duties revolved around household chores and raising children. Feminism was not the only theme Kate used in this short story to entertain her readers, she also strategically placed literary ironies to keep the readers interest. In Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour,” there is so much irony. Louise Mallard is about to be told about the death of her husband, Brently Mallard. This is for sure to take a toll on an old woman with a bad heart condition. One can start to feel the irony right after she is told of her husband’s death. She retreats to her room alone where she sits in a comfortable chair and stares out the window. It is what she sees out the window that shows some irony of the story. Through the window, Louise sees “the tops...
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...The Necklace vs. The Story of an Hour Pamela Richard ENG 125 Lesa Hadley May 11, 2012 The Necklace vs. The Story of an Hour A short story, “The Necklace” (“La parure”) written by Guy de Maupassant in 1884 and a poem, ‘The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin in 1894 are literary works that are very comparable yet are different. The two women, Madame Mathilde Loisel and Louise Mallard, portrayed in these literary works are protagonists who have trouble because of conflicting expectations imposed on them by society. Both Mathilde Loisel and Louise Mallard want something more than what their lifestyle offers them. During the time when the authors wrote these pieces, the social behaviors showed gender suppression/oppression. This essay will compare and contrast elements of content, form, and style between two different literary works. Both authors chose the theme of gender roles in marriage. During the time when the authors wrote theses pieces, the social behaviors showed gender suppression/oppression. The nineteenth century was impacted by the industrial revolution which caused a gap in gender roles, especially in the upper and middle classes (Radek, 2001). Men and women were thought to have completely different natures. Men were considered to be powerful, brave, rational and independent. Women were considered weak, timid, emotional, and dependent. Those differences separated their functions in society. "Men were thought to have natures suited to the public...
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...Irony in Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” “The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin is described as a story of great irony having many unexpected twists and turns. Situational and dramatic irony is used throughout the story. This is a story of a woman who finds out her husband’s death in a train accident and reacts with sadness in the beginning, but then realizes a freedom and relief from her repressive life. She experiences a complete joy over the death of her husband and dies from the shock of discovering that he is still alive. The first type of irony encountered is a situational irony, where there is a contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. Mrs. Mallard’s discovery of her lost freedom and regaining her identity comes only after her husband’s death. In the story, dramatic irony is used when others characters believe that she has died because she is so overjoyed to see her husband alive whereas the readers know that in reality, she has died because she had a glimpse of freedom and could not go back living under her husband’s will again. After grieving with wild abandonment of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard seeks solitude in her room. The open window from which she gazes represents freedom and opportunities. Instead of being gloomy and dark to symbolize death, she sees patches of blue sky, fluffy clouds and treetops. She also hears singing of birds and smells a coming rainstorm. What all this signifies is a new beginning for Mrs. Mallard. Everything...
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...In “The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin, The protagonist Louise Mallard is a young woman who has a lot of conflicted feeling due to the news of her husband Brently’s death. The narrator is using different irony to express the mood of the story. And though the irony, readers can have a perfect glance of what truly occur in the story. In the whole story, it filled with different emotions of sadness, freedom and joyful. Like at the beginning it mentions Louise is so shock and sad when her sister Josephine tells her that her husband died in a railroad disaster. She weeps and wild abandonment in her sister’s arm immediately. It shows that she can’t accept her husband is leaving her. But after she went into her room by herself, she can feel her new life is coming. She can’t cover her feelings that she feels freedom in her deep heart. ““Free! Body and soul Free!” She kept whispering.”(Chopin 338) It can totally show her freedom and joy in this sentence. Also she believes that she will have a new life without her husband. However, after she walked down stairs and saw her husband standing in front of the door, she died of heart disease-of joy that kills. Actually she doesn’t die of joy as the doctor said, she dies of disappointed. She can’t imagine that her hope suddenly disappears. The overall mood of this story is very depressed, first the protagonist is so sad at once she heard the horrible news, then she feels joy and freedom when she being alone, finally she dies by the disappointment...
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...Gender Roles and/or Marriage ENG 125: Introduction to Literature In Guy De Maupassant's, "The Necklace" and Kate Chopin's, "The Story of an Hour" the characters are females who struggle with inner conflicts. Many differences as well as likenesses are identified between the two characters, which would like to make major changes in their life. “The settings of the stories take place in the late 1800's, which during this time women were restricted from doing many things such as: working outside of the home, they were controlled by their spouses, and they had to be subservient females”(Wikipedia). Mrs. Mallard is the main character in "The Story of an Hour" and Mrs. Loisel is the character in "The Necklace." The type of tone the writers chose for the main characters were discontent women, who yearned for a better life than their current one. Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" is the story of Mathilde Loisel, who resents her current lifestyle. When Monsieur Loisel presents his wife with an invitation to a formal ball, she bursts into tears because she has nothing elegant to wear. Mathilde's husband agrees to let her buy a gown, and, following his suggestion, she borrows a beautiful necklace from a friend. As a result, she has a wonderful time at the ball. Upon returning home she realizes that she has lost the necklace she borrowed from her friend. The Loisels replace it with a similar one, for which they enter into debt for ten years. One day Mathilde sees her old friend and...
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...Everything and anything that people do and read can have an impact on them. Short stories generally do not have a very long time to make an extraordinary first impression on the readers. Sarah Ellis brings flavour and depth to her story The Tunnel by grabbing the attention of the readers. Authors often use literary devices to enhance their short story. First writers use imagery to make the reader’s visualize images in their minds. Secondly they use irony to emphasize a central idea about the story. Lastly they use symbolism to add profundity and meaning to a story. To begin, when the readers cross paths with imagery it makes the story that much more interesting. Kenton is babysitting a little girl named Ib who makes him play with barbies. Kenton suggest to get out of the house and go on a mission and...
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...“When the doctors came they said she had dies of heart disease--of joy that kills” (Roberts 342). This is the final and pivotal line in Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” written in 1894. The story tells a tale of a woman named Louise realizing her husband had died in a railroad accident. She goes to her room only to find a new found freedom she now has without her husband. “She began to weep again and then she was young, she was new, she was somehow reborn” (Fatima). This freedom is crushed when she finally emerges to see her husband alive. The sight kills her where she stood. “When she sees him she dies instantly … she has to continue living a depressing life that has no meaning or excitement included” (Fatima). I am going to show how through the use of such literary devices as irony and connotation Chopin added a depth to the story that moves the reader. The story has one of the best examples of irony you can find. The very last line of the story states that Louise had died of heart disease—of joy that kills. The tragic irony is that it was both joy and sadness that killed her. She dies from the sadness of knowing the joy see realized through looking out her window has been crushed. This joy of freedom and independence is what killed her. Without filling herself with this joy she would not have anything to be destroyed when she realized her husband was alive. So the joy killed her because without it there would be no shock when her husband returned, yet the sadness of loosing...
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...Joy That Kills Do you know how you will react upon hearing the ever so grave news that someone close to you has perished? Imagine, if only but for a moment, the range, intensity, and volume of emotions that will be flowing through your consciousness. In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, we see this scenario played out in a woman’s life during one emotion-filled hour. Louise Mallard is a woman afflicted with heart problems who, upon hearing the unfortunate news of her husband’s death, is thrust into a moment in time when the life she has come to know suddenly begins to take on a whole new meaning. Interwoven in this timeless tale are themes of self-assertion, oppression, repression, and freedom at a time when woman were anything but. Through her use of irony, symbolism, suspense, and descriptive narratives, Chopin masterfully captures the essence of one woman’s plight in “The Story of an Hour”. The use of irony is an effective literary tool Chopin uses throughout her story to keep the audience cognitive of the contradictions inherent in people and situations. Early on, we see an example of situational irony when we are told Louise Mallard, after being informed of her husband’s death, “Did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzing inability to accept its significance” (215). We are further told, “She wept at once, with wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” (215). Louise appeared to everyone in the house to be extremely sad and goes...
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...The Irony of Louise Mallard’s Widowhood In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, the author disturbs the reader through the character of Mrs. Mallard. Mrs. Louise Mallard is a coldhearted woman who is happy at the news of widowhood, unbeknownst to her family and friends. Mrs. Mallard’s train of thought throughout the story is unexpected and shocks the reader at every turn, but teaches the reader a few things about relationships in the process. Situational and dramatic irony are created through the interpretation of Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death and through her own untimely death. Two different events in this story shock the reader through situational irony. Situational irony occurs when the reader’s expectations of the story are met with an unexpected occurrence, something that the reader wouldn’t have guessed would happen. The first incident takes place shortly after the main character, Louise, is told that her husband has died in a railroad accident. Her immediate reaction is predictable; she clings to her sister and sobs because her husband is dead. When a person loses a loved one that person goes through a mourning period to grieve for the loss and to cope with the death. What the reader is unprepared for, however, is not this display of emotion directly after the news of the accident. Rather than devastated by his death, Louise is overjoyed. Rather than absorbing the news as some women, “with paralyzed inability to accept its significance”...
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...with socializing, instead of taking care of family related things. In the lights of these circumstances, the feminist approach has revealed itself in literature. One of the good examples of feminist literature is Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour”, which exposes the lack of freedom of women in the 1800s. In her story, Chopin estimates the situation of women in marriage and she looks at the life from a female perspective. Mrs. Mallard, the heroine of the story, is a cardiac patient, who had been told what to do by her husband and could not make choices for herself. In a way, Chopin portrays what it is like to be a woman in the late nineteenth century through an ill protagonist. In the story Mrs. Mallard is told that her husband is dead, even though she is emotional at first, she leaps for joy with the recognition of freedom. However, when Mrs. Mallard learns her husband is alive, which means she will lose her moment of freedom all over again, she dies. “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills.” (Chopin 3) Analyzing of “The Story of an Hour” through the historical and feminist lenses, it can interpreted as an illustrating of a woman’s lack of freedom in a male-dominated society. “The Story of an Hour” was written in the Victorian Era, when a wife was responsible for all household chores without...
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