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Idioms
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
Part 2: Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Women are Like Water:
Upon hearing of Hella’s return in Part 2: Chapter 1, Giovanni tries convincing David to continue their relationship. He rails against the fickleness of women and recounts his former sexual exploits with women, trying to keep David by his side. The more he speaks, the more ironic, and unhinged, his comments become:
‘Oh well,’ said Giovanni, ‘these absurd women running around today, full of ideas and nonsense, and thinking themselves equal to men—quelle rigolade!—they need to be beaten half to death so that they can find out who rules the world.
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Part 2: Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—David and Hella:
Hella’s return in Part 2, Chapter 4 threatens David’s “double-minded” life. Following through on his relationship with her requires David to conceal his gay identity, trapping him in a delicate—even unsustainable—balancing act. The tension is on full display in the dramatic irony that occurs after an awkward encounter with Giovanni and Jacques:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Hella sighed. ‘I didn’t mean to get your friends mad at you,’ she said. ‘You ought to go back and have a drink with them. You said you were going to.’
‘Well, I may, I may not. I’m not married to them, you now.’
‘Well, the fact that you’re going to be married to me doesn’t mean you have to break your word to your friends. It doesn’t even mean,’ she added, shortly, ‘that I have to like your friends.’
Related Themes:
