The Irony of Tamara’s style of dressing
The author describes Tamara as a lady who puts on her clothes without taking consideration of weather patterns. More often, the reader expects one to look at the weather patterns before dressing to ensure that there are no unseen uncertainties. Ironically, the confidence in Tamara's dressing is astonishing because all her clothes can adjust to weather changes! Under normal circumstances, dresses are designed to fit specific weather patterns but not to automatically adjust to the prevailing weather. The author writes, "She never checks the weather before she dresses; her clothes are the weather, as powerful in their sunniness as the strong, muzzy early morning light pouring into the narrow street by the bus stop, warming the combed crown of her hair and fueling her with imagination.”
The Irony of Mrs. Winters First Publication
Mrs. Winters is introduced to the reader as a middle-aged woman who is well known for her editing career. She has done a credible job throughout her life as one of the outstanding editors of Danielle Westerman's work. However, it is ironic that she is not confident in her first written novel. When she writes her first novel for publication, she is anxious and nervous that her work is not going to attract the attention of the readers. The reader expects the person who has been editing books and novels throughout her career to have a flawless own work without having any doubts. Mrs. Winters' doubts are evident when she says, “As a longtime editor of Danielle Westerman’s work, I had acquired a near-crip-pling degree of critical appreciation for the sincerity of her moral stance, and I understood perfectly well that there was something just a little bit darling about my own book.”
The Irony of the Association of Meteorologists
The narrator’s husband comes home in a depraved attitude because he was caught up in a sudden rainstorm. When it rains, his car gives him a lot of problems especially when water finds its way into the car’s distributor. He was forced to make several stopovers while coming home so that he could clean and dry the distributor before proceeding with the drive. Thanks to his wife who serves him with a hot meal when he gets home despite being in a bad mood. The irony is that he is supposed to go to work the following day but the Association of Meteorologists just announced that it will be on strike. Therefore, he is not aware of what will happen to him the following day since he does not have a clue on whether it is going to rain or not. The author writes, "To make matters worse, he’d heard on the car radio that the National Association of Meteorologists was going on strike the following day.”
The Irony of the Narrator’s Husband
The narrator says that her husband is an old-fashioned man who is not after any luxury. The husband thinks that he is not materialistic and that is why he has adopted a strange way of living. His neighbors are driving new cars, building swimming pools, and accumulating wealth to buy more luxuries. However, the narrator's husband says that he does not value luxuries despite having the financial capability to uplift his living standards. Ironically, despite having a well-paying job, the narrator's husband has stacked to the old car that gives him many problems especially when it rains. The reader wonders why he cannot upgrade the basics such as replacing his car to have humble time while driving.
The Irony of Ted
Ted is portrayed by the author as a character who has conflicting interests. The author reveals that one of the reasons why Ted leaves Beth for another woman is because she has weight problems. Ironically, Teddy hates Beth's weight problem while his own face is fat, fleshy, and indulged! Ted is looking at other people's challenges while ignoring a log in his eye. Making matters worse, Ted is falling for Charlotte, a woman described as extremely skinny who cannot walk diagonally in a room! Charlotte's hips point downwards like shaped knives. The reader is left flabbergasted why Ted is going with such a woman leaving his beautiful wife in the cold.
