Introduction
The brief tale by Kate Chopin reveals how many women in married relationships endure loveless unions with their spouses and are trapped in a marriage that they would rather annul. The irony is that such marriages are dead on arrival and physical death only brings finality to a union that was already lifeless. In “The Story of an Hour” Louis Mallard is in a loveless relationship with Brently Mallard, her husband of many years. When she gets news that there has been an accident and her husband was a casualty; hence, dead. She morns for barely a minute. Chopin writes “she wept once with sudden wild abandonment…” (Chopin 1). Her relief is, however, short-lived as she basks in the newfound freedom that the death of her husband had brought her. Brently Mallard walks into the house after a long journey and it is revealed that he was nowhere near the scene of the accident when it happened. Moreover, Brently did not even know about the incident. Perturbed, Louis is struck by a heart attack and falls dead, her brief relief leading to her own demise in an ironic twist of events. The premise of this essay is to argue whether the theme of death in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is ironic.
According to Paudel women in the late nineteenth century, America was characterized by heightened levels of anxiety owing to the strict social and traditional structures that were deeply rooted in society at the time (97). Kate Chopin expresses this heightened tension through the expression of Louis Mallard’s character as a wife who is not satisfied with her loveless marriage. Chopin points to the fact that Louis did not love Brently wholeheartedly. “And yet she had loved him – sometimes” (Chopin 2). The irony of it is that the marriage is self was dead if not on its death bed. It is obvious from the allusion to death presented at the beginning of the story, that the news of Brently’s death is but a manifestation of the marriage relationship between Brently and Louis that also seems to be dead. In this regard, the irony is in the fact that although mourning the death of Brently, Louis had been in a somber mood while still in her marriage, which can be equated to mourning in her marriage.
The irony of the theme of death in the story also reverberates in the brief but fulfilling freedom that Louis experiences upon coming to terms with her husbands’ demise. According to Chopin, she whispers free three times just to show how the marriage was unbearable to her and now she is freed from it. Further, she exclaims “Free! Body and soul free! She kept whispering” (Chopin 2). Rajakumar and Rajeswar advance that Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” resonates among cultures that are gender oppressive against women with the implication of domesticity as a gender role of women reigniting thoughts of unfairness (174). This analogy can also be applied to the fact that Louis seems to spend much of her time indoors as her husband goes off to work. Such kinds of gender roles have been the annoyance of feminists who claim equality. In essence, it is ironic that the death of the marriage may have been brought about by the stereotypical gender roles that defined late 19th century expectations (Rajakumar and Rajeswar 173). Louis must have been fed up with this kind of lifestyle and; hence, the resigned attitude that she developed towards her marriage of many years.
Finally, the climax of the story also culminates in the most provocative irony that makes the story memorable to anyone who reads it. The death of Louis Mallard is a shocker and a wonder to readers as it is not expected or anticipated. Ironically, Chopin writes that the doctors rule the cause of death allegorically as “the joy that kills” (Chopin 3). This leaves one wondering how hilarious it is that a person could die of joy. Although it is assumed that the joy was from the realization that her husband was alive after all, it is clear to the reader that it was not joy that killed her rather, the sight of renewed death of what was her marriage. Wan reminds us that “The Story of an Hour” captures the theme of death as the cyclical relationship of decay and renewal since something dies and a new one is born in its place (169). Ironically, this is played out as karma where the joy for the death of her husband is quickly turned on its head, which leads to Louis’s death. What remains to ponder upon is whether Brently felt the same as his wife or otherwise, did he mourn her wife? That remains unknown.
Conclusion
At its core, the discussion has lived up to its purpose in presenting a compelling argument concerning the content of the short story “The Story of an Hour” with its captivating ironical theme of death. As such, the irony that surrounds the topic of death shows how Louise was living in a symbolically dead marriage that ironically ended when the news of her husband’s death came to her realization. However, the twist in the series of ironic death instances culminates in Louise’s own death when she realizes that her husband is alive after all. The fact that all characters but Brently’s friend know the truth, as well as the reader concerning Louise’s death, reveals that the irony captured in the story surrounding death is mockingly an instance of bad karma. Thus, elucidating on Kate Chopin’s creativity in the use of irony in the theme of death as captured in the discussion.
