The Story of an Hour Essay Example for Free

The Story of an Hour Essay Mallard is feeling, and how the to contradict each other. An irony of fate occurs when there is difference in what a character realizes what they want and how they are treated in the end. Mrs. Mallard in this short story is the abyss of irony of fate. â€Å"When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills† (Chopin 170). Mrs. Mallard spends the first half of the short story feeling intense guilt and sadness with the news that her husband has died. Later on in the story Mrs. Mallard realizes that she is now free, without her husband she can do what she wants. When Mrs. Mallard has finally come to terms with her husband’s death and learned that it is a good thing, her husband walks in the door. Mrs. Mallard sees her husband alive and drops dead of a heart attack. Mrs. Mallard truly lives up to the irony of fate because instead of her husband being dead and her being free, Mrs. Mallard dies and her husband is the one who is alive and free. The metaphor, simile, and the irony of fate that Kate Chopin uses in The Story of an Hour help the reader follow Mrs. Mallard on her journey from grief to joy. The metaphor helps the reader understand the sadness she is feeling. The simile shows how Mrs. Mallard is dealing with her grief after hearing the news of her husband’s death. The irony of fate shows how after accepting that her husband’s death means freedom to her, she dies and it shows the reader the irony in it all. The three literary devices help illustrate the journey Mrs. Mallard takes when learning of her husband’s death. The simile and metaphor illustrate her sadness and then the irony of fate illustrates how her acceptance and joy of her husband’s death is her true end.