Irony in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"

Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour describes the mental processes and behavior of a woman upon discovering the recent news of her husband's death. This story points out the seriousness of some women's oppressive lives in the late 1800's with situational and dramatic irony concerning the life and death of the protagonist Louise Mallard. The contrast between what is predicted to happen and what actually happens compels the reader to look closely to peculiar …

…for a short time, she experiences it to the full. Once her hope for a life of independence is stolen from her, her very soul can no longer return to the cage of oppression imposed by her loving but overbearing husband. The Story of an Hour truly displays this irony in a way that one can see how traumatic a life without freedom can be, even for someone who felt it for only an hour.