Eve is Lonely Once She Achieves Fame (Situational Irony)
Throughout the film, all Eve wants is to achieve fame and glory. She dreams of the adoration of an audience, the rush of an applauding crowd, and the sense of belonging that being a great star affords someone. At the Sarah Siddons Awards, she finally achieves that belonging, and says in her speech that she feels connected to her community. However, we know that she is not connected to them at all, that through her ruthless ambition, she has alienated herself from many of the most important people in her life. She leaves the awards and doesn't even want to go to the after party. Instead, she goes home, and she even forgets her award in the car. It is ironic that after all the lengths that Eve went to become famous and affirmed by the public, she can barely appreciate the rewards of her hard work because she has no friends. Her only companion is Addison, who blackmailed her into being with him. Thus, her sense of belonging becomes more of a burden than a gift.
We Know that Eve becomes Famous (Dramatic Irony)
Because the film starts at the end, essentially, with Eve winning the Sarah Siddons Award, the viewer spends the entirety of the film knowing that the events are leading up to Eve becoming a famous and beloved actress. Therefore, when we first meet her and she is waiting by the stage door in the rain, an adoring and seemingly pathetic fan, we know that her fate will soon change and she will become a star herself. Thus, there is dramatic irony because we the audience know that Eve will become a famous actress even though none of the characters do. They get to know Eve slowly, without the advantage of knowing the future, but we know that whatever happens, Eve will wind up winning an award at the end.
“After all, you didn’t personally drain the gasoline tank yourself" (Dramatic Irony)
Margo says this to Karen after the car runs out of gas when they are driving back to the train station to send Margo to New York for the matinee of the play. The irony is, of course, that Karen did drain the gasoline tank herself as a prank to prevent Margo from going back to the city, so that Eve could go on as her understudy that day. While the viewer knows that Karen plotted what she thought was a harmless prank behind Margo's back, Margo has no idea, and perceives the whole incident as a stroke of bad luck.
Margo doesn't want to be in Lloyd's new play (Situational Irony)
As part of her grand scheme to become a renowned actress, Eve calls Karen to the bathroom at the Cub Room to ask for her to give her approval to let Eve play the lead in Lloyd's new play. Karen is fed up with Eve for what happened with Addison's column, and therefore refuses to give Eve her word that she will approve her for the part. This leads Eve to blackmail Karen into giving approval; she tells Karen that if she doesn't let her play "Cora" in the play, she will tell Addison that Karen plotted the debacle with the car to get back at Margo and ensure that Eve went on as Margo's understudy. Reluctantly, Karen agrees to secure Eve the part of Cora. When she returns to the table, Margo reveals that she doesn't even want to play Cora, an ironic twist in the evening. Karen was put in a very uncomfortable position for nothing.
