Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour”–which takes only a few minutes to read–has an ironic ending: Mrs. Mallard dies just when she is beginning to live. … They mean well, and in fact they do well, bringing her an hour of life, and hour of joyous freedom, but it is ironic that
they think their news is sad
.
Why do you think Mrs Mallard went to her room alone?
Mrs Mallard weeps bitterly with wild abandonment in Josephine's arms. Then she goes to her room to
be by herself and locks the room
. Inside the room, alone, she feels frightened of some knowledge that is coming to her. … She waits fearfully for this unknown feeling or knowledge.
What is ironic about Mrs Mallard?
Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour”–which takes only a few minutes to read–has an ironic ending: Mrs. Mallard dies just when she is beginning to live. … They mean well, and in fact they do well, bringing her an hour of life, and hour of joyous freedom, but it is ironic that
they think their news is sad
.
What happens while Mrs Mallard is sitting alone in her room?
Mallard, a woman described as having “heart trouble,” learns of her husband's sudden death in a train accident.
She weeps, then retires to her room
to be alone. While she is in the room, she looks out the window and begins to notice all of the blooming life outside her home.
Why is it ironic that Mrs Mallard is alive at the end?
To add to what the above poster said, it is ironic that
Mrs. Mallard dies
, not because of news of her husband's death, but from the realization (and disappointment) that he is alive.
What really killed Mrs. Mallard?
Mallard
died of a heart attack
, what they also referred to as “the joy that kills.” They must think that the heart attack was triggered by her joy at the sudden reappearance of her husband, whom she thought dead. At the beginning of the story, it is stated that Mrs. Mallard suffers from a heart condition.
Did Mrs. Mallard love her husband?
Mallard admits
to herself that she had sometimes loved her husband
, but “often she had not.” After she believes that he is dead, she realizes that love is worth little when compared to independence and self-possession. In short, though she sometimes loves her husband, Mrs. Mallard loves her own independence more.
What is ironic about the death of Mrs. Mallard after she sees her husband is still alive?
What is ironic about the death of Mrs. Mallard after she sees her husband is still alive?
She wanted a long life but then she dies right after she thinks it.
What is the irony in Josephine asking Mrs. Mallard to open the door?
The irony, of course, is that
Josephine does not realize that her sister has been whispering herself
. Mrs Mallard pronounces not words of grief, but one idea repeatedly, “Free!
What is the response of Mrs. Mallard to her husband death?
Mrs. Mallard's reaction to the news of her husband's death is that
of a woman freed from a long prison term
. She is shocked into silent disbelief, overcome with emotion, struck with a sense of relief at being free from the burden of marriage.
Is Mrs. Mallard a credible character?
Mallard has with her husband is
, indeed, realistic for the setting of “The Story of an Hour.” Mr. … Her initial sadness is offset by the reflection that with her husband's passing she might be able to exercise her voice and assert her own sense of identity in her own life.
How does Mrs. Mallard see her future?
She had a constricting marriage and she
sees freedom in her future
and gets excited about that.
How does Mrs. Mallard think of a future?
In less than an hour, Mrs Mallard gets used to the idea of a completely different future. There is a drastic change in her life and she is excited about it.
She breathes a quick prayer that life may be long
. Only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that ‘life might be long'.
What kind of irony is joy that kills?
Chopin utilizes both
dramatic irony
and situational irony when Louise Mallard discovers the shocking news and suddenly dies of a heart attack.
Why is Mrs. Mallard at first afraid of what she sees coming to her?
Why is Mrs. Mallard at first afraid of what she sees “coming to her?”
She has lived a constrained life so long that freedom seems frightening to her at first
. She has some idea of what the thing is, and she knows she will have to reject the idea.
Why was Mrs. Mallard happy her husband died?
Mallard is happy after hearing the news of her husband's death:
she thinks that she has finally found a way out of a lifestyle that does not fit her any longer
. This reminds us of another famous Kate Chopin character, Edna Pontellier, in The Awakening.
