Art Of Irony in The Story of An Hour - Essay Example

‘Art of Irony in ‘The Story of an Hour’

Chopin, the author of the story of an hour, has used a wide variety of literary devices to grasp the attention of the plenty and to make the story even juicier by putting more flesh into her main character, Mrs. Mallard. Chopin shows her prowess in writing by using ironies to bring out the struggles of this woman. Chopin places the most attention on the reactions and emotions of her main character. From the beginning of the story up to the end, the reader can grasp the different emotions displayed by the main character, Mrs. Mallard. Chopin, the author, has used the art of irony in the story of an hour to display a clearer picture of the situation of married women in the 1800s. Throughout the story, Chopin shines a light on the oppression of many housewives. Chopin exhausts the different types of irony ranging from situational to dramatic and even verbal irony to portray the real situation of the main character Mrs. Mallard, a symbol of the many oppressions women face in their marriages.

Chopin artistic ways of unveiling the position of most married women leave many in awe. Chopin uses four characters who are mallards and their relatives. The whole story takes place mallards home in her house. It appears Mr. mallard has just perished in a train accident, and the two are there to break the news to her. Both the reader and the two characters are worried about her reaction to the news. Josephine being the caring sister that she is taking the responsibility of breaking the news to her in a manner that will not compromise her health. Thinking about how delicate her heart is, the reader cannot help but sympathize with her. Chopin foreshadows Mrs. Mallards demise by making her health condition known to the reader. Louise is just a woman to add on top of ailing from a heart condition, and now the news of Mr. Mallards demise. How cruel is this world? How would this fragile woman be able to take it?

The first impression of the reader of Mrs. mallard is that she is just a fragile woman who might not be able to handle the news of her husbands demise. Everybody is afraid that the news of her husbands death would crush her, but alas, this is not so. Mrs. Mallard surprises the reader by taking the news much better than anticipated. she appears to be grief-stricken only when she is in the presence of the people around her. Still, when she goes up to her room, her real emotions regarding her bereavement are uncovered. The grieving woman is nowhere to be seen. Mrs. Mallards act of going upstairs gets most people scared for her wellbeing, ailing from a heart condition, everybody fears that she might do something crazy when she is alone or even worse gets a case of heart failure. Josephine goes upstairs and begging her to open the door for fear of her compromising her health from being too grief-stricken is unnecessary as Mrs. Mallard is more than okay. The aspect of irony is displayed here. Any bereaved woman would be bawling her eyes out or would appear to have lost all hope and motivation due to the deep distress caused by the loss of someone close to you, but for Mrs. Mallard, it is not so. How ironic!

At first, the reader has trouble comprehending whether she is in denial over the loss of her husband or whether she is too troubled to believe that the one whom she shared her world is gone. Still, apparently, Mrs. mallard is just happy and relaxed over her husbands demise. She even contemplates what she is going to do with the attained freedom. Freedom at last for her but in the form of her husbands demise. Her heart swells with joy from this thought. Chopin portrays Mr. Mallards character as being overly controlling and restrictive. Mrs. Mallards behavior is proof. Her husbands traits push her to have such thoughts.

Mrs. Mallard is insensitive. Any woman would be mourning over the loss of a loved one, and failure to mourn raises many questions, but Mrs. Mallard only thinks of what to do with the newly attained wings. Mrs. Mallards behavior clearly comes as a shock to the many. Her happiness over her Mr. Mallards demise would make anyone get goosebumps. How does death even bring happiness? How does a wife get happy over her Mr. Mallards death? Her heart is completely black. She only cares about herself even at the expense of the other. It is purely ironic for the woman to celebrate in this situation. We expect the wife of the bereaved to be saddened and grief-stricken but never happy over Mr. Mallards demise.

It is ironic for Chopin to name the couple the mallard in the story. Mallard is a duck in the wild, but it appears that Mrs. Mallard has no freedom. She is bound to a marriage where she is not happy. According to the narrator, she sometimes loved her husband, and often she did not. It appears that she did not love her husband as much. She thought that she would have to wait much longer before she could flap her wings and fly away, but freedom came in the form of her husbands demise. Chopin sure is a master of ironies.

Chopin portrays her lack of freedom here. Upon seeing the one who was presumed dead back to life, Mrs. mallard is reeled in by great shock. In the end, she collapses and dies from heart failure. Mrs. Mallards life comes to an abrupt and tragic end. Chopin surprises as yet again when the many presume that Her heart failure is a result of her been overwhelmed by the strong emotions of fear, shock, disappointment, frustration, and anguish from seeing the loss of her freedom. Alas, she is free but freed through death, her death. It is her desire for liberation that killed her. Her malicious thoughts and intent that killed her. The life story of Mrs. Mallard sure is tragic, she craved liberation, but in the end, she lost her life.

Chopin has used the Mallards story to portray the reality of most marriages. From the story, one valuable lesson is learned. No matter the failure or success in a marriage, one should never wish death upon the other for what you pray for always starts with you. This text gives people a glimpse into the life of the oppressed gender. Indeed, Louise is the most pitiable character in the text.