Role of Irony in The Story of an Hour

The Story of an Hour
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The Story of an Hour
"The Story of an Hour" is a short narrative by Kate Chopin discussing a woman, Louise Mallard, living in a traditional Victorian marriage. The author tries to convey that individuals of both genders tend to feel they have the right to control a marriage over a marriage partner and enforce a private will on that individual. To make this story effective, Kate Chopin utilizes various stylistic devices. One of the most utilized styles is the use of irony. Irony is a style that critically indicates incongruity or contrast between how something appears and how it is in reality. The author applies various instances of verbal, situational, and dramatic irony.
In “The story of an Hour," situational irony is present. This irony represents something occurring differently from what is expected (MasterClass, 2022). One of the most present examples of this irony is during the hour’s event in which Bently Mallard passes on, and Mrs. Louise Mallard is alive. The narrative alters, yet Bently Mallard is living, whereas Mrs. Mallard possesses achievement in her eyes as she inclines the stairs in the room, where she prays to see herself living a long life. Mrs. Mallard observes her man when he enters the door with a sharp cry and finally dies. Kate Chopin uses situational irony to create a suspenseful atmosphere by inserting twists and turns to upset the reader. The situation of Mrs. Mallard not dying is different from what the reader could have expected.
On the other hand, Chopin applies verbal irony in her work. Verbal irony comprises incongruity in words. The speaker tries to make the reader understand their meaning, contrary to the literal or common meaning of what they say. It leads to an ironic clash between the intended and actual literal words ( MasterClass, 2021). Mrs. Mallard encounters several different emotions within a short period which she could have encountered in her entire life. Also, at the beginning of the story, Chopin uses "a heart trouble." The statement appears to represent a physical disease; however, the author is not aiming the "heart" to represent the body organ. Unfortunately, this "heart" denotes the soul (figurative heart) where Mrs. Mallard struggles from repression, a soul’s complication.
After Mrs. Mallard knows about her husband’s death, she cries and mourns for a few days. However, she is greatly happy to realize her husband's death as she feels it was the beginning of her freedom. Josephine says, "it is over and over underneath her breath: free, free, free!” (Chopin, 1894). This statement indicates that Mrs. Mallard tends to be happy withou...