Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour Vocabulary: forestall, repression, elusive, tumultuously, elixir 1.

At the beginning of the story, what does the narrator call the ailment that afflicts Mrs. Mallard? What, in addition to a medical condition, might the narrator mean by this phrase? 2. What does Mrs. Mallard see as she gazes out the window of her room? In what ways does the scene outside Mrs. Mallards window foreshadow the feelings that sweep over her as she sits in her chair? 3. What words does Mrs. Mallard whisper to herself repeatedly? What has Mrs. Mallard apparently resented about her marriage? 4. According to the doctors, what is the cause of Mrs. Mallards sudden death? What do you believe is the actual reason for Mrs. Mallards death? 5. In what ways is Mrs. Mallards reaction to her husbands death an example of situational irony? Do you think Mrs. Mallard is as surprised by her reaction as the reader is? Explain. 6. In what ways is Mrs. Mallards death an example of situational irony? Note two details from earlier in the story that add to the poignancy of this ironic ending. 7. In what way is the diagnosis of Mrs. Mallards cause of death an example of dramatic irony? 8. Where is the climax of the story? What is ironic about it? 9. What ironic details lead you to believe that Mrs. Mallard will be truly grieved by her husbands death? 10. Which detail in the second paragraph makes Mr. Mallards arrival at the end all the more ironic?

Kate Chopin The Story of an Hour Vocabulary: forestall, repression, elusive, tumultuously, elixir 1. At the beginning of the story, what does the narrator call the ailment that afflicts Mrs. Mallard? What, in addition to a medical condition, might the narrator mean by this phrase? 2. What does Mrs. Mallard see as she gazes out the window of her room? In what ways does the scene outside Mrs. Mallards window foreshadow the feelings that sweep over her as she sits in her chair? 3. What words does Mrs. Mallard whisper to herself repeatedly? What has Mrs. Mallard apparently resented about her marriage? 4. According to the doctors, what is the cause of Mrs. Mallards sudden death? What do you believe is the actual reason for Mrs. Mallards death? 5. In what ways is Mrs. Mallards reaction to her husbands death an example of situational irony? Do you think Mrs. Mallard is as surprised by her reaction as the reader is? Explain. 6. In what ways is Mrs. Mallards death an example of situational irony? Note two details from earlier in the story that add to the poignancy of this ironic ending. 7. In what way is the diagnosis of Mrs. Mallards cause of death an example of dramatic irony? 8. Where is the climax of the story? What is ironic about it? 9. What ironic details lead you to believe that Mrs. Mallard will be truly grieved by her husbands death? 10. Which detail in the second paragraph makes Mr. Mallards arrival at the end all the more ironic?