about the story of an hour

The author describes Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to nature as she looks out the open window in the novel. She can see the fluffy clouds and the treetops as she looks out the window. She can scent the approaching rain and hear birds singing in the distance. “She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the fresh spring life,” the author writes in the fifth line (Chopin para. 5). Mrs. Mallard’s heart is filled with new optimism and life as spring approaches. She is sure that she will have a new life full of independence if she keeps her head straight. The paragraph further reveals her encounter with the “countless sparrows that were twittering in the eaves.” This means that she is able to feel the hints of elation resulting from her freedom.
In paragraph 6, it is clear that once the “widow” opens her window, she observes the clear, bright view of the blue sky which she could not see earlier. The author states, “There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window” (Chopin para. 6). Mrs. Mallard is able to see through the sky since she is no longer obstructed by another person. By asserting that the light sky is observed from the west, it symbolizes the end of day. She had imagined that her life was ending due to the many restrictions she faced. However, she is feels there is light at the end of the tunnel, hoping to experience the free world.
The two paragraphs have a great impact on the subject of confinement and oppressiveness addressed in the story. Chopin illustrates how marriages are oppressive amidst any possibility of kindness. Mrs. Mallard admits that although her husband had been kind and loving, his death has become a sign of joy to her. Her reaction does not show any malice especially when she explains there was love between Brently and her and fails to highlight the ways in which she had been oppressed. She feels the death of her husband releases her from oppression which had robbed her off her happiness. Paragraphs 5 and 6, thus, describe the arriving freedom which can be felt in the air. The approaching spring and the blue signify her freedom from oppression. At last she is filled with hope of a more open life where she can make her own decisions.
 
Number B
Kate Chopin’s story utilizes different forms of irony to explore the key theme. With the reported death of Mr. Mallard at the beginning of the story, a situational irony is observed at the end due to the unexpected twist of events. The key irony witnessed is perhaps the changing of events that suggest that Blently is dead and Mrs. Mallard has fully become alive. This abruptly changes in the end when Louise who seems to have “triumph in her eyes” suddenly dies when the door is opened and she sees her husband while descending the stairs. In the last paragraph, the author narrates, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease — of joy that kills” (Chopin para. 21). Mr. Mallard had not died from the train as the other characters imagined. Instead, he appears and the wife is the one who ends up dying.
The author has also utilized verbal irony in the story. That is, the statement made by the author in a story which means the opposite of its actual meaning. While Chopin utilizes several verbal ironies through the story, an example at the end of the narrative is the use of “days ahead of her.” It seems that the phrase denotes a longer and free life for Mrs. Mallard. In fact, the author states, “She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long” (Chopin para. 18). It appears that Mrs. Mallard is breathing the fresh air of a longer life she expects ahead. Instead, the reader learns that the “days ahead” connotes the figurative days after life. Mrs. Mallard soon dies, having a peaceful rest and free from the oppressive marriage, away from her husband.
The use of irony in the story impacts the main subject of the story which is oppression in marriage and the struggle for freedom. Through the situational irony, it becomes apparent that Mrs. Mallard is eager to get away from the confined marriage institution. This can be observed from the “triumph in her eyes” as well as the fact that she “breathed a quick prayer that life might be long.” With the joy of finally being free, Louise ends up dying when she gets shocked after discovering that her husband is still alive. The verbal irony also denotes the freedom from marriage confinement. When Chopin refers to the “days ahead of her,” it is clear that Mrs. Mallard expects to escape from the oppressive marriage; however, this does not happen in the end.
 
Work Cited
Chopin, Kate. The story of an hour. Blackstone Audio, 2013.