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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
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—The Bible:
Ironically, though the Bible has a strong influence over society in Gilead, the teachings of Jesus widely contradict those of the religious leaders in Gilead, who center fear and obedience rather than love and forgiveness. Agnes and Becka realize this when they read the Bible for the first time themselves.
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Aunt Lydia:
Within the broader context of Atwood's series, including both The Testaments and The Handmaid's Tale, it is deeply ironic that Aunt Lydia—one of Offred's main antagonists in The Handmaid's Tale—becomes not only a central figure in The Testaments, but also a sympathetic protagonist. This situational irony reflects a difference in narration, but on a wider level, the juxtaposition between Offred and Aunt Lydia's perspectives represents the deep divide cultivated between women in Gilead.
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Chapter 2: Transcript of Witness Testimony 369A
Explanation and Analysis—Magic Ring:
In the following example of dramatic irony from Chapter 2, Agnes recalls a youthful conversation with her mother about her birth.
Unlock with LitCharts A+“Where’s the magic ring?” I would ask. “Where is it now?”
“It’s right here on my finger,” she would say, indicating the third finger of her left hand. The heart finger, she said it was. “But my ring had only one wish in it, and I used that one up on you. So now it’s an ordinary, everyday mother ring.”
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Chapter 6: The Ardua Hall Holograph
Explanation and Analysis—X-Rated:
In the following example of situational irony from Chapter 6, Aunt Lydia enters the library to exert one of her few privileges: engaging with banned literature.
Unlock with LitCharts A+Once sequestered, I took my nascent manuscript out of its hiding place, a hollow rectangle cut inside one of our X-rated books: Cardinal Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua: A Defence of One’s Life.
No one reads that weighty tome anymore, Catholicism being considered heretical and next door to voodoo, so no one is likely to peer within.
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Chapter 48
Explanation and Analysis—Books:
This passage from Chapter 48 uses situational irony to discuss Agnes's ability to read and comprehend:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“She wanted to live on her own and work on a farm. Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Vidala said this is what came of reading too early: she’d picked up the wrong ideas at the Hildegard Library, before her mind had been strengthened enough to reject them, and there were a lot of questionable books that should be destroyed.”
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Chapter 62: Transcript of Witness Testimony 369B
Explanation and Analysis—Anger:
In the following example of situational irony from Chapter 62, Agnes and Nicole make their way northward toward the Canadian border, intend on escaping to carry out their "Pear Girls" mission:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As we went north, the friendliness decreased: there were angry looks, and I had the feeling that our Pearl Girls mission and even the whole Gilead thing was leaking popularity. No one spat at us, but they scowled as if they would like to.
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