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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—It's Work and Care:
As the awkward conversation about Mrs. McPherson’s future drags on, Adelaide's remarks about caring for her mother are full of situational irony and hyperbole:
It’s work and care, Ellen, and you may as well admit it. You need all your strength—with those sickly children and Edward on your hands. When she comes to me, there need be no expense, James, except for clothes. I have room enough and Mr. Oswald will never notice the difference in the house bills—but he does hate to pay out money for clothes.
Adelaide speaks as though she is trying to convince Ellen not to take in their mother by listing all the challenges it would bring. This is situational irony: she's doing this not because she's worried about Ellen but because she doesn't want to take care of Mrs. McPherson herself. She pretends to be concerned that Ellen already has too much to handle with her “sickly children and Edward” to look after. However, it is really Adelaide who doesn’t want the extra responsibility.
Adelaide also uses hyperbole when she talks about the "work and care" involved in looking after their mother. She makes it sound like taking her in is going to be a huge burden for her, but deflects responsibility for this selfishness by making it sound like she wants to take it on. She also says that "Mr. Oswald will never notice the difference in the house bills," which in any other circumstances might seem like an argument for taking Mrs. McPherson into her home. However, at the same time, she complains about her husband not wanting to spend "money for clothes" when James has the financial freedom to spend whatever he wants. By saying this, she makes it look like she and her family would struggle financially if they took the widow in, hoping this will convince her brother that it’s his job.
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Explanation and Analysis—Provided for Properly:
Adelaide responds tartly to her brother's insincere concern about the cost of their mother's clothing, imbuing her speech with verbal irony:
"Mother must be provided for properly,” her son declared. “How much ought it to cost—a year—for clothes?”
“You know what your wife’s cost,” suggested Adelaide, with a flicker of a smile about her lips.
When Adelaide tells James “You know what your wife’s cost,” she’s subtly pointing out her brother's capacity to afford their mother's needs. James is pretending to be ignorant of how much money it costs to provide for an upper-middle-class woman. Adelaide knows he’s actually familiar with this cost, considering the expenses he incurs for his wife’s clothes as a member of the social elite. This comment, underlined with a “flicker of a smile,” insinuates that the amount James spends on his wife's clothing is probably quite significant. Therefore Adelaide’s retort implies that he should have no issue ensuring their mother is equally well cared for. The irony here lies in her indirect way of highlighting her brother's wealth. He’s pretending not to understand her because he doesn’t want to take on the additional expenses. Adelaide’s knowing response destabilizes his seemingly earnest query about the cost of making sure Mrs. McPherson is “provided for properly.”
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Explanation and Analysis—Money of her Own:
Mrs. McPherson’s advice to her daughters about what to do with their inheritance is full of situational irony:
“Your father’s property amounted to about eight thousand dollars when he died,” she continued. “That would be two thousand dollars to James and one thousand dollars to each of the girls. That I’m willing to give you now—each of you—in your own name. But if my daughters will take my advice, they’d better let me send them the yearly income—in cash—to spend as they like. It is good for a woman to have some money of her own.”
“I think you are right, Mother,” said Adelaide.
Mrs. McPherson offers to give Adelaide and Ellen all of their inherited money immediately. However, she also gives them another option, counseling that it might be smarter for the daughters to let her give them their share bit by bit, every year, to “spend as they like.” She thinks they should do this because a woman should have “some money of her own.” This is situationally ironic on several levels. Firstly, Mrs. McPherson—whose daughters thought she would need help with her money—is actually the one giving solid financial advice here. She's showing that she knows what she's doing, and she's pushing back against the idea that she can't handle her finances now that her husband is gone. In addition, the offer she makes suggests that her daughters should leave the money with her so it stays out of their husbands’ hands. In this period of history, money that was passed down to married women automatically became the property of their spouses. The widow is granting her daughters some rare independence in this moment, even though they believed she wouldn’t want any herself.
The situation is also ironic because Adelaide, who had been doubtful of her mother's financial sense before, now immediately agrees with her. When Adelaide says "I think you are right, Mother," she is completely changing their pre-existing power dynamic. Adelaide supports her mother’s view that women should keep control of their own money—as soon as it financially benefits her!
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Explanation and Analysis—Two Thousand Dollars:
James expresses concern for his mother's financial wellbeing in the future, but Mrs. McPherson reveals she doesn't need any help whatsoever in yet another situationally ironic twist. She tells him:
No, James, I shall keep the ranch, you see. I have good reliable help. I’ve made two thousand dollars a year—clear—off it so far, and now I’ve rented it for that to a doctor friend of mine—woman doctor.
This revelation is situationally ironic because both the children and the reader have been led to believe that Mrs. McPherson—and women in her situation in general—cannot help but struggle without a husband's presence. However, she's actually doing quite well for herself, and her children are completely ignorant of it.
It's a surprise to both the reader and the McPherson siblings to find out that the widow has been successful with the ranch. She’s made a steady income running the place as a private hospital, and has even secured a rental agreement with a reliable tenant, a “woman doctor.” This challenges the assumptions so broadly held about her needing assistance after her husband's passing. Deepening the irony, Mrs. McPherson has not only become a self-made woman but is now going to rent the ranch to another, a “woman doctor” also making her own way. This exchange reveals Mrs. McPherson to be someone quite capable who has been financially savvy all along. This is the case despite her son’s patronizing attitude, and with or without his moments of “sudden [...] tenderness.”
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