The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin 令TOne osAn ironically detached and melancholy tone The story comes off as subtly cruel in that Louise's reaction to the death of her husband was not one of sadness from loss but rather a bitter joy she feels when she comes to the understanding that she is now free from the shackles of marriage, his perceived death representing freedom and independence from the role she is forever bound to by society-a wife❖ Tone An ironically detached and melancholy tone: The story comes off as subtly cruel in that Louise's reaction to the death of her husband was not one of sadness from loss but rather a bitter joy she feels when she comes to the understanding that she is now free from the shackles of marriage, his perceived death representing freedom and independence from the role she is forever bound to by society - a wife. The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin