How Irony Challenges The Traditional Conventions Of Marriage
Irony is an important element of Kate Chopin¡¦s short story ¡§The Story of an
Hour¡¨. The reader¡¦s expectations of how Louise will respond to her husband¡¦s death and
his return are not met. For example, the reader expected Louise to be sad, but Louise becomes happy. Instead of being ill because of sadness, she becomes excited about living for a long time. Brently¡¦s return kills Louise instead of bring her happiness the reader expects. Chopin uses irony in the story to challenge the traditional conventions about marriage.
Although Louise is sad about the death of her husband, she also realizes that her
Life goes on. When Josephine and Richards tell her the news of her husband¡¦s death, ¡§she wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment in her sister¡¦s arms¡¨ (439), this gives the reader the impression that Mrs. Mallard is going to be extremely upset that Mr. Mallard has died in the train accident. After she cries, she goes into her room along, this is important because it means that Louise does not want comforting from Josephine and Richards. In the room, Louise sits in the comfortable, roomy armchair, ¡§pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul¡¨ (439). It gives the reader the images that Louise feels safe and has found a remedy to life. She sees the spring in the air through the windows, ¡§before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly¡¨ (439). The spring represents a new season, and symbolizes a new life for Louise. The peddler and the song represent life going on outside the windows. Also that the life continues outside, the world is still spinning. So does Louise¡¦s life go on. When she see the ¡§patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds¡¨...
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