The Death of Mallard. After Mrs. Mallard imagines her new found life and goes down the stairs "Someone was opening the door with the key. It was Brentley Mallard, who came in, a little travel-stained, primly carrying his backpack and umbrella. He had been away from the scene of the accident, and I didn't even know there had been one" (58) When she enters, Mrs. Mallard dies. The moment of Mrs. Mallard's death is also a symbol of her newfound freedom coming to an end, literally and physically. All the characters in Chopin's story believe that Mrs. Mallard died of happiness, but the clues in the story lead the reader to the true cause of death. Dramatic irony, such as "when the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills" (58) brings the reader back to the quality of the Mallards' relationship and really sparks interest in deciphering the meaning