The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is: The doctor said joy killed Mrs. Mallard.
This conclusion is one of the most famous examples of dramatic irony in literature. Throughout Kate Chopin’s short story, the reader is given access to the innermost thoughts of the protagonist, Louise Mallard. After being told of her husband’s death in a railroad accident, Louise initially grieves but then experiences a profound emotional awakening in the privacy of her room. She realizes that his death has set her free from the oppressive bonds of marriage, and she feels an exhilarating sense of liberation and hope for a future she can live for herself. She embraces this newfound independence with what the story calls a “monstrous joy.”
The story’s climax occurs when Louise, filled with her secret triumph, descends the stairs only to be confronted by the sight of her husband, Brently Mallard, walking through the front door unharmed and completely unaware of the reported accident. The shock of this reversal is too much for her weak heart. She collapses and dies instantly.
When the doctors arrive to examine her, they conclude that she died from a heart attack brought on by overwhelming happiness. The final line of the story states, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease, of the joy that kills.” The irony is that the characters in the story believe she died of joy at seeing her husband alive. However, the reader understands the tragic truth: she died from the sudden, devastating shock of losing the freedom she had only just begun to savor. The “joy that kills” was not happiness at his return, but the loss of the joy she found in his supposed absence. The other options are incorrect as they are not supported by the text; she does not faint from dehydration or simple fainting, and there is no mention of pregnancy.
