Irony in

“STORY OR AN HOUR”

Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" is a masterpiece of the literary technique of irony; even
the title is ironic in that so much that is unexpected happens in the life of Louise Mallard in just
sixty minutes. Here are other examples of the three types of irony:

 Situational Irony 

Since irony always involves an incongruity, this type of irony is one in which the expectation
and the fulfillment are not what is expected. Perhaps, the most salient example of situational
irony is in the turn of events in the hour that suggest that Bently Mallard is dead and Mrs. Louise
Mallard has fully come alive. For, incongruously the narrative abruptly changes and it is Bently
Mallard who yet lives while Mrs. Mallard, who with "triumph in her eyes" as she descends the
stairs from her room in which she has "breathed a quick prayer that life might be long"; perceives
her husband as he comes through the door, and with a "piercing cry" abruptly dies.

 Verbal irony

This type of irony involves an incongruity of words. That is, verbal irony is a statement by the
writer which means the opposite of what it appears to mean. While Chopin's story has several
instances of verbal irony, one example is Chopin's use of "a heart trouble" at the beginning of the
narrative. It seems that the phrase denotes a physical ailment, but Chopin does not intend for
"heart" to denote the organ of the body. Instead, the reader later discerns, "heart" connotes the
figurative heart; that is, the soul. Mrs. Mallard suffers from repression, a trouble of the soul.

 Dramatic irony

Dramatic irony involves differing perceptions by the reader than by a character in the story. For
instance, when Mrs. Mallard will not allow Josephine to help her upstairs, it seems that she is so
grief-stricken that she wishes to be alone. However, unbeknownst to the character Josephine, the
reader learns that Louise Mallard wishes to be alone so that she can fully comprehend her
freedom from repression as a Victorian wife:

She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless....
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully....She was beginning to
recognize this thing that was approaching...
When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped...."free, free, free!"

Instead of grieving as Josephine believes, Louise Mallard rejoices in her new freedom. Since
only the reader is privy to this knowlege and the character Josephine and, later, her husband
Bently do not know her feelings, dramatic irony exists.

Indeed, it is this masterful use of irony in her very short story that gives Chopin's "The Story of
an Hour" such powerful implications.