Essay/Term paper: The story of an hour

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Book Reports

In Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour," there

is much irony. The first irony detected is in the way that

Louise reacts to the news of the death of her husband,

Brently Mallard. Before Louise's reaction is revealed,

Chopin alludes to how the widow feels by describing the

world according to her perception of it after the "horrible"

news. Louise is said to "not hear the story as many women

have heard the same." Rather, she accepts it and goes to her

room to be alone. Now the reader starts to see the world

through Louise's eyes, a world full of new and pure life. In

her room, Louise sinks into a comfortable chair and looks

out her window. Immediately the image of comfort seems to

strike a odd note. One reading this story should question the

use of this word " comfortable" and why Louise is not

beating the furniture instead. Next, the newly widowed

women is looking out of the window and sees spring and all

the new life it brings. The descriptions used now are as far

away from death as possible. "The delicios breath of

rain...the notes of a distant song...countless sparrows were

twittering...patches of blue sky...." All these are beautiful

images of life , the reader is quite confused by this most

unusual foreshadowing until Louise's reaction is explained.

The widow whispers "Free, free, free!" Louise realizes that

her husband had loved her, but she goes on to explain that

as men and women often inhibit eachother, even if it is done

with the best of intentions, they exert their own wills upon

eachother. She realized that although at times she had loved

him, she has regained her freedom, a state of beeing that all

of G-d's creatures strive for. Although this reaction is

completely unexpected, the reader quickly accepts it

because of Louise's adequate explanation. She grows

excited and begins to fantasize about living her life for

herself. With this realization, she wishes that "life might be

long," and she feels like a "goddess of Victory" as she walks

down the stairs. This is an eerie forshadowing for an even

more unexpected ending. The reader has just accepted

Louise's reaction to her husband's death, when the most

unexpected happens; her husband is actually alive and he

enters the room shocking everyone, and Louise especially,

as she is shocked to death. The irony continues, though,

because the doctors say she died of joy, when the reader

knows that she actually died because she had a glimps of

freedom and could not go back to living under her husband's

will again. In the title, the "story" refers to that of Louise's

life. She lived in the true sense of the word, with the will and

freedom to live for only one hour.