John is beginning to be frustrated with the way everyone comes to him to describe their relationship troubles. Ford employs dramatic and situational irony to depict how John sees the perspectives of Leonora, Edward, and Nancy on their entangled love affairs:
And the odd thing was that Edward himself considered that those two women used him like a shuttlecock. Or, rather, he said that they sent him backwards and forwards like a blooming parcel that someone didn’t want to pay the postage on. And Leonora also imagined that Edward and Nancy picked her up and threw her down.
The dramatic irony in this scenario arises from the fact that Leonora, Edward, and Nancy each confide in John that they feel like “shuttlecocks” being tossed about in their love problems. Each person thinks this is an original observation, unaware that the others have expressed similar feelings. This lack of awareness amongst the characters about each other's perspectives makes the reader feel John’s discomfort. It also prompts them to re-examine the ridiculously tangled web of sexual intrigue the novel has reached. The reader, privy to each character's confession, gains a broader understanding of the situation, which the characters themselves totally lack. This irony highlights the disconnect and miscommunication among them. Each thinks their emotional response is unique, when in fact they’re totally uniform responses to facets of the same issue.
Ford employs situational irony here too, as each character perceives themselves as passive victims of the situation. Despite having played active roles in the unfolding drama, each sees themselves as powerless and swayed by outside forces. Edward, Leonora, and Nancy all feel manipulated and victimized by the others, yet fail to acknowledge their own contributions to the problems they face. They blame others for their misfortunes and manipulations, while remaining blind to how they have contributed to their own predicaments.
