The Irony of a Widow
...ef and replaces it with a new found joy of freedom. “She said it over and over under her breath: ‘Free, free, free!’... She did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.” She realizes that she will grieve again when it comes time for the funeral but that will pass and her new unrestricted life will begin. Also in the story, there are two events that create dramatic irony in which the reader has more knowledge than the character. The first event that displays dramatic irony is when Josephine is begging her sister, Mrs. Mallard, to unlock her bedroom door. Josephine wants her sister to unlock the door because she is afraid she may hurt herself. “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door—you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.” Josephine assumes that Louise is in an extreme state of suffering. She believes that the emotional influence of her husband’s death may be too much for her heart to bear. The reader knows that Mrs. Mallard has no intention of hurting herself. On the other hand, she is now embracing a life of freedom she never thought possible. Even when she descends the stairs “she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” Josephine has made a very wrong assumption about the state of her sister’s well-being. The second and most ironic event that occurs is when Mrs. Mallard dies upon seeing her husband walk through the door. It is a great surprise to the reader to learn of her death, but its an even greater surprise to learn what the other characters believe is the reason of her death. The most profound quote to be taken from this story is the final sentence, “When the do...