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Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Volume 1, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Neighborly "Witchcraft":
In Volume 1, Chapter 8, Hope writes a long letter to Everell. In this letter, she uses verbal irony to recount a cruel situational irony that unfolds concerning Nelema:
“It is as I expected: Nelema was sent, early this morning, to the magistrates. She was tried before our triumvirate, Mr. Pynchon, Holioke, and Chapin. It was not enough to lay on her the crime of curing Cradock, but Jennet and some of her gossips imputed to her all the mischances that have happened for the last seven years.["]
Jennet accused Nelema of witchcraft after she used her knowledge of natural remedies to save Cradock from a snake bite that would otherwise have killed him. Hope uses verbal irony to point out the situational irony: Nelema is being held responsible for "the crime of curing Cradock," which of course should be considered a wholly good deed—the opposite of a crime. Furthermore, Nelema is being held responsible for everything that has gone wrong in the community since the time of the raid that killed many of the Fletchers. This is ironic because Nelema has always been a helpful neighbor, on whom the Fletchers and others have relied for local knowledge and resources.
Hope uses further verbal irony to tell Everell about her remedy for the cruel situation. She writes in her letter that she had a dream Nelema promised that she would one day see Faith alive again. She also writes that she heard Digby was unaccounted for the same night Nelema disappeared from custody. In the following chapter, the narrator reveals that Hope is performing the role of helpless damsel by writing that she dreamed about Nelema and that she has simply heard strange rumors about Digby. Her feigned passivity misdirects anyone who intercepts her letter from understanding what she really means: no passive damsel, she intervened directly in the "justice" proceeding brought against Nelema. She and Digby worked together to release Nelema from prison, and Nelema promised to repay her debt by reuniting Hope with Faith. Hope dislikes the cruel irony of Nelema's sentencing, so she manipulates the situation for a better outcome and claims outwardly to be helpless against political forces.
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