What is the author's tone in the short-story, The Wedding-Knell?

The story’s prose consistently supports the specific tonal shifts and dynamics of the narrative. At first, the story’s tone is generally frank and unassuming, as the narrative begins with direct exposition about the lives and personalities of Mr. Ellenwood and Mrs. Dabney.

Regarding the story’s central scene, the prose consistently supports stark and counterintuitive juxtapositions between happiness and a sense of the macabre. For example, there is the juxtaposition between Dabney’s entrance and the tolling of the ominous bell, there is the contrast between Dabney’s resplendent dress and her old and withered form, and there is the juxtaposition between Ellenwood’s exultant tone while he speaks of death. These tonal idiosyncrasies are finally emphasized and paralleled in the story’s final description: “But as the ceremony proceeded, the organ…poured forth an anthem, first mingling with the dismal knell, then rising to a loftier strain…And when the awful rite was finished…the organ’s peal of solemn triumph drowned the wedding-knell” (26). These juxtapositions between joy and solemnity ultimately serve the story’s thematic purposes of exploring the bittersweet realities of embracing death.