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Similes
Situational Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Bargain Stockings:
Situational irony highlights a turning point in "A Pair of Silk Stockings." The following passage describes Mrs. Sommers as she first discovers the discounted stockings that launch her spending spree:
She looked down to see that her hand lay upon a pile of silk stockings. A placard near by announced that they had been reduced in price from two dollars and fifty cents to one dollar and ninety-eight cents; and a young girl who stood behind the counter asked her if she wished to examine their line of silk hosiery. She smiled, just as if she had been asked to inspect a tiara of diamonds with the ultimate view of purchasing it.
At first, Mrs. Sommers seems amused at the prospect of buying the stockings. But then she finds herself unable to resist their silky texture. The irony here is that her initial attraction to discount stockings leads her to spend her money quite lavishly. Her intention to be economical devolves into an entire day of frivolity. One might say that this isn't so unexpected (and thus not ironic), since she has been looking forward to this shopping spree all along. However, there is a definite ironic tension between the stockings' cheap price and the larger purchases they inspire, as hinted at by the comparison between the "discount hosiery" and a "tiara of diamonds."
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