Irony occurs when someone means the opposite of what he or she says. Thus, in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," it is ironic that the doctors say that Louise Mallard dies of "heart disease of joy," because heart disease is medically never associated with happiness but with stress and pain. Josephine and Richards console Louise when she grieves her husband's death, so they see her devastated. However, there is also irony in the fact that Louise then locks in her room and, after thinking about it, she feels overjoyed to know her husband is dead and she is liberated. Finally, she dies when she sees that he is alive.
