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Definition of Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given situation, and that of the... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a... read full definition
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Inside Joke:
In Chapter 3, the narrator squirms in secondhand awkwardness while Mrs. Van Hopper makes a fool of herself in front of Maxim. By the end of the scene, Maxim uses verbal irony and dramatic irony to establish rapport with the narrator at Mrs. Van Hopper's expense:
He got up at once, pushing back his chair. “Don’t let me keep you,” he said. “Fashions change so quickly nowadays they may even have altered by the time you get upstairs.”
The sting did not touch her, she accepted it as a pleasantry.
Related Themes:
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Household Routine:
In Chapter 8, the narrator wakes up on her first morning at Manderley. Maxim leaves her largely to her own devices, and dramatic irony soon makes it clear that she is out of her element:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[O]ne of [the servants] laughed—Robert, I supposed. Perhaps they were laughing about me. I went upstairs again, to the privacy of my bedroom, but when I opened the door I found the housemaids in there doing the room; one was sweeping the floor, the other dusting the dressing table. They looked at me in surprise. I quickly went out again. It could not be right, then, for me to go to my room at that hour in the morning. It was not expected of me. It broke the household routine.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—White Dress:
One important instance of dramatic irony occurs in Chapter 16, when the narrator debuts the white dress she has commissioned for the costume party. Maxim's and others' reaction to the dress takes the narrator entirely by surprise and clues her and the reader in that she has missed some very important information:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“What the hell do you think you are doing?” [Maxim] asked. His eyes blazed in anger. His face was still ashen white.
I could not move, I went on standing there, my hand on the banister.
“It’s the picture,” I said, terrified at his eyes, at his voice. “It’s the picture, the one in the gallery.”
There was a long silence. We went on staring at each other. Nobody moved in the hall. I swallowed, my hand moved to my throat. “What is it?” I said. “What have I done?”
Related Themes:
Chapter 19
Explanation and Analysis—Her, The Other One:
In Chapter 19, everyone is startled when a steamer runs aground in the harbor. The narrator makes small talk about it with Ben, and a poignant moment of dramatic irony ensues:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“She’ll break up bit by bit,” he said, “she’ll not sink like a stone like the little ’un.” He chuckled to himself, picking his nose. I did not say anything. “The fishes have eaten her up by now, haven’t they?” he said.
“Who?” I said.
He jerked his thumb towards the sea. “Her,” he said, “the other one.”
“Fishes don’t eat steamers, Ben,” I said.
“Eh?” he said. He stared at me, foolish and blank once more.
Related Themes:
