How irony challenges the traditional conventions of marriage
How irony challenges the traditional conventions of marriageIrony 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¡¨ (439). There are reasons of hope for Louise to believe that sadness will go away. Her life goes on even without Brently.
Because of Louise¡¦s heart trouble and her husband¡¦s death, Josephine and Richards are concerned that Louise might become more ill. However, because of the freedom she expects in the future, she becomes excited about living and feels full of life. Although Brently¡¦s death still makes Louise sad, the realization that life goes on gives her the strength and hope to live on. As more peaceful calm that slowly takes over Louise¡¦s body and mind, ¡§There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it¡¨ (439). This represents that Louise is preparing herself to live without Brently mentally and physically, and she decides to view her husband¡¦s death as an opportunity to become in part of that life in ways that she never had before. As soon as she whispers the words ¡§free, free, free!¡¨ (439), the reader knows that Louise feels happy on living on herself and she will not keep these feeling inside of herself. Then she realizes in a rush emotion and relief that she is ¡§Free! Body and soul free!¡¨ (440), Louise views the world with a fresh outlook¡Xone where she will be her own person, answering only to herself. When Josephine calls her through the door ¡§open the door¡Xyou will make yourself ill¡¨ (440), she believes Louise has made herself ill with all the talk of freedom, instead ¡§she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open windows¡¨ (440). This tells the reader that Louise has become very bright, excited, and positive about the future, and at this point she struggle with guilt and overcome it.
Both Josephine and Richards are scared that Brently¡¦s return might be too much for Louise and her heart. The surprise Louise experiences when Brently walks into the door, and the understanding of the broken dream of her new life causes her death.
Louise revels in her bedroom, thinks of her freedom today and tomorrow, longing to have a lengthy life on her own. She opens the door to her sister unwittingly like a goddess of Victory¡¨ (440). It seems like Louise is going to share everything with Josephine together, and at this point, Louise seems to have everything, and the reader could clear tell that she is not sad about her husband¡¦s death anymore. As they descend the stairs together, meeting Richards at the bottom. Someone opens the door. It is Brently Mallard, unharmed and completely composed, unaware of the transformation that has occurred with his absence. Josephine screams and Richards is trying to screen the living dead from the view of the heart patient. But it is too late, ¡§she had died of heart disease¡Xof joy that kills¡¨ (440). She sees Mr. Mallard walking through the door when she enjoys the moment without Brently and future plans which she has in mind. All of a sudden the dreams that Louise had are broken when she realizes Brently is alive, dreams are still dreams. She also loses her freedom with her husband¡¦s coming back. She has everything and nothing all in the same moment. It is ironic to use the word ¡§joy¡¨ here, because the real joy that Louise feels when she realizes Brently is dead, and pain so great to kill her when she sees her husband walking into the door.
The story happens in a very short time, so does Louise¡¦s emotion, it takes a couple of twists and turns that makes the ironic and unobvious. She reacts sad and hopeless as the reader expect to see when she hears the news, yet she realizes life goes on, so does hers. Then she find out that Mr. Mallard¡¦s death gives her the freedom that she has never experienced before, Louise will only live for herself without any one force her. As she is excited about her new life in the future, Mr. Mallard walks into the door, and which causes her dead. Chopin uses the ironic to determine the marriage is not always about the mature love either the equalization. She makes an interesting commentary in the story about the necessity for woman to express themselves as individuals¡Xin times of joy, grief. The story presents a disdain for the way that woman are treated in some relationships, and to a certain extent in society as well.