Use the passage below to answer the question.

Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.

Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.

"The author's choice of ending, where the protagonist dies upon realizing her newfound freedom, adds a shocking twist that enhances the story's aesthetic impact by challenging societal norms and forcing readers to reflect on the limitations placed on women during that time period."

Correct the essay shown above. (Hint. Something is stated incorrectly here, or in a way that does not match the story/passage. What is ironic about this ending and the way the other characters view it.)

The essay shown above contains an incorrect statement regarding the ending of the passage. The ironic aspect of the ending is that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, actually dies not from joy but from shock and disappointment. It is ironic because the other characters, such as the doctors and Mrs. Mallard's sister, mistakenly believe that she dies from the overwhelming happiness of her newfound freedom. Additionally, the passage suggests that the protagonist was trapped and oppressed in her marriage, implying that her death is not a positive outcome but rather a tragic one. The ending challenges the societal norms of the time by highlighting the limitations placed on women and forces readers to contemplate the true nature of Mrs. Mallard's fate.