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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Lucy's Consent:
At the end of the ninth chapter, Cecil and Lucy find themselves alone in the woods, and Cecil asks whether Lucy would allow him to kiss her. She says yes in a way that Cecil is unhappy with, as he finds it austere and unromantic. The narrator uses a metaphor to describe her response, and this produces dramatic irony, as the reader knows just how intense and romantic her kiss with George was.
Her reply was inadequate. She gave such a businesslike lift to her veil. As he approached her he found time to wish that he could recoil. As he touched her, his gold pince-nez became dislodged and was flattened between them.
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Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Cecil and Intermarriage:
In the tenth chapter, Lucy finds out that Cecil has thwarted her plan to install the Miss Alans at the villa Sir Harry Otway has been struggling to find tenants for—replacing the spinster sisters with none other than the Emersons. Several layers of irony, as well as foreshadowing, ensue in the conversation between Lucy and Cecil after she reproaches him on his obstruction of her plan. Not realizing that something is going on between Lucy and George, Cecil speaks the following line:
Unlock with LitCharts A+'No, Lucy, the classes ought to mix, and before long you’ll agree with me. There ought to be intermarriage — all sorts of things. I believe in democracy —’
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Chapter 17
Explanation and Analysis—Lucy's Lies:
Toward the end of the novel, the titles of three chapters in a row follow an anaphoric construction. Chapter 16 is called "Lying to George," Chapter 17 is called "Lying to Cecil," and Chapter 18 is called "Lying to Lying to Mr Beebe, Mrs Honeychurch, Freddy and the Servants." This repetition foreshadow later events and creates some dramatic irony.
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