Question

The last line of The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is this: "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease-of joy that kills." In what ways is this an ironic statement?

Answer 1

Answer:

This is an ironic statement for it was Mrs. Mallard who died, and not from the cause the doctors think but rather at the happiness of knowing that she was finally free from her husband's controlling hand.

Explanation:

Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of An Hour" tells the story of how an unexpected death occurred to the main protagonist. The whole story is full of ironic scenes which makes it all the more interesting.

The story begins with the news of Mr. Mallard's death which seemed to shock everyone, including his wife. But unknown to the others, Mrs. Mallard was secretly happy and relieved with this news and now feels that she is finally free from the controlling hand of her husband. But the end brought in another shocking twist, in that the very man who was presumed dead walked in to the house which was another shock to everyone. Mrs. Mallard has felt so relieved and free that it shocked her to see her husband return safely. The other characters thought that she died of extreme happiness in getting back her husband but in reality, she died of shock in seeing him alive.

Irony is when the scene happened quite contrary to what is shown or thought of. The last statement in the story is quite ironic for it implies that her death was due to the joy of Mr. Mallard's safe return but it was rather the opposite. The "joy that kills" is the joy she had when she realized that her freedom and independence from her husband's control was finally here, and not the joy of his safe return.