The Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour tells of the events that occurred during the hour after Mrs. Mallard is informed of her husband supposed death. Chopin includes several ironies in the story. The first is Mrs. Mallard's reaction to the death of her husband. The audience, and the other characters, expect her to be distraught. Her sister even tells her in the most delicate way possible, worried that a strong reaction to the news would cause heart problems on her. At first, Mrs. Mallard reacts as one might expect, "she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment". However, the more time passes, the more she seems happy at the death. She considers life without him as freedom, and imagines what she will do with this independence. Her positive reaction to the news is ironic, her sister clearly did not need to worry of the news causing her to die of grief. However, the ultimate irony occurs when Mr. Mallard enters the house, very clearly alive. Mrs. Mallard then has a heart attack and dies, rightly so for being so overjoyed at the death of someone she was suppose to love.