Free At Last

In The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, irony conveys an idea of personal freedom. Mrs. Mallard received  news that her husband has died. She became melancholy for a brief moment of time, then realized the true implications of the husband's death. She was no longer imprisoned by the marriage. She became free: "She said it over and over under her breath: ' Free, free, free!' " (Chopin). She had lover her husband, but she loved freedom more. She could now live for herself and live her hopes and dreams. Then, her husband comes home and she dies of heart disease. The doctor believes that she died from an abundance of emotions, mainly joy, when she saw her husband alive. This is mistaken since the reader knows she praised the death of her husband. What caused her death was the realization that her hopes, dreams, and freedom had vanished.