In "The Story of An Hour" we are shown life's ironies from the very beginning. Having to know that Louise Mallard was suffering from a heart condition she still had to find out the terrible news. There is the fact that Richard and Josephine were so hesitant to break the terrible news of Mr. Mallard's death due to her heart condition. "It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half concealing." Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her" (67, 2). They made sure to approach it as carefully and hopefully as gently as possible to Louise. She did not respond with the same emotion then any other women would have. "She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms" (67, 3). It instantly hit her in the most emotional and disturbing way.
Acknowledging her love for her husband at first led Louise and those around her to believe it was grief and sorrow that caused such emotion.
English: Managing emotions - Identifying feelings
Emotion
English: The theory of loveShe cried and felt depressed like any normal person should from the situation. It was time for her to be alone in her room in a comfortable, cozy chair, looking out the open window, letting it all soak in. She observes the outside view seeing only the feeling of new spring life and the "delicious breath of rain was in the air" (67, 5). Upon isolating herself and letting herself take in her own peace of mind, Louise is frightened when an unidentified feeling begins to grow in her. She soon realizes she feels not grief and sorrow but unsurpassed freedom and self empowerment, yet another ironic twist:
She was young, with a fair, clam face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a
certain strength. But now there...