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Imagery
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—Murderous Landlady:
The situational irony at the heart of “The Landlady” is the fact that the small and feeble owner of a cozy bed and breakfast is secretly a murderer who kills and stuffs humans and animals alike. The following passage captures the way that Billy initially believes the bed and breakfast to be a safe and welcoming space:
He went right up and peered through the glass into the room, and the first thing he saw was a bright fire burning in the hearth. On the carpet in front of the fire, a pretty little dachshund was curled up asleep with its nose tucked into its belly. […] There was a baby grand piano and a big sofa and several plump armchairs, and in one corner he spotted a large parrot in a cage. Animals were usually a good sign in a place like this, Billy told himself.
Here Billy notices the “pretty little dachshund” curled up by the fire and the “large parrot in a cage” nearby, concluding, “Animals were usually a good sign in a place like this.” The irony of this moment is revealed later when the landlady tells Billy that both of these animals are, in fact, dead. They only look like they are alive because she stuffed them to appear as such. Dahl then makes it clear that the landlady is planning to kill and stuff Billy, who she indirectly refers to as one of her “little pets.” Here, as elsewhere, Dahl communicates that appearances can be deceiving—while Billy saw the animals as “a good sign,” they were actually the opposite.
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