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Dramatic situational and verbal irony
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Roman Fever is known as one of the best writings of Edith Wharton. The story is about two old ladies who have been friends in the loosest terms that have intersecting lives. It incurs passion, envy, jealousy, deception and love into the very threads of the story’s meaning. In the story “Roman Fever,” Wharton cleverly expresses the variation of upper class society which affects the lives of the people such as Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade. Through the use of irony and symbolism Wharton exposes the love, betrayal, and deception angles of the cynical Mrs. Grace Ansley and Mrs. Alida Slade. Wharton's writing consists of layers of irony which readers interpret by the actions of the Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley. During the first scenario at the restaurant, …show more content…
Ansley and Mrs. Slade. Wharton discloses the fact that Mrs. Ansley isn't the only one with a dark secret, Mrs. Slade also has secret hidden of her own. Mrs. Slade sent a letter, while acting as if she was Mr. Slade, to Mrs. Ansley when they were younger: “Well, you went to meet the man I was engaged to and I can repeat every word of the letter that took you there” (122). Mrs. Slade confesses that she is the one who tried to send Grace off to the Colosseum. Petry discusses how Grace is left in shock after realizing that the letter she cherishes isn't from Delphin: “Her bag, her knitting, and gloves slid in a panic-stricken heap to the ground” (Petry 165). She stands up in shock, dropping the knitting material which symbolizes the wreckage of their relationship. The objects’ falling signifies the mental state of Grace, and her anxiety has also fallen away. At this point Grace begins to realize that she does not need to hide behind her knitting and feel guilty for her affair with Delphin. Therefore, leading her to lose her anxiety and stand up for herself. Ironically, Alida thinks she has ruined Grace by taking away her one and only memory of Delphin, but the readers are informed about the affair which causes …show more content…
Petry draws attention to Grace realizing that she has always had the upper hand throughout the story. She was the one to have an affair and illegitimate child with Delphin. Therefore, Grace demonstrates her new status through a change in body language. Before Alida has her head high and is looking down on Grace. Now, however, Grace is leaving with her head held high and leaving her knitting kit behind: “[Grace] began to move ahead of Mrs. Slade”
(125). She leaves the restaurant without picking up her knitting materials. On the other hand, “it is the defeated Alida who picks up her handbag” and walks out with the biggest truth of her life (Petry 166).
Through the use of irony, Wharton starts to reveal the dark affair secret of Delphin and Grace. Alida seems to be envious of both Grace and Barbara. She thinks Barbara is the girl that can catch everyone's attention in the room as she walks in. Alida calls Grace and Horace an old and boring couple: “Museum specimens of old New York” (118). She finds it ironic that a boring old couple could create such a “dynamic” daughter (120). Little does Alida know that the dynamic daughter is actually an offspring of Delphin and Grace from the night at the Colosseum. The truth about Barbara is openly revealed at the end of the story by Grace when she says “I had Barbara” to Alida
Wharton’s parents raised her in aristocratic society. Her father, George supported the family working in real estate, while her mother Lucerita was a stay at home mom. Her mother was devoted to high society, and was unsupportive of her interests in writing. (Todd and Wetzel) Unlike her mother, Morton Fullerton supported Wharton. While in England, Wharton met Fullerton. As their relationship progressed, she became close friends with Katharine Fullerton. Katharine was Morton’s orphaned sister, that his family took in. (Witkosky) While Wharton was in England her husband was seeking “cures” for his depression. As portrayed in the novel, Ethan Frome’s wife Zeena was constantly seeking cures for her illness. Like Teddy, Zeena was isolated from society and kept to herself. Ethan’s wife was devoted to high society because she came from an aristocratic home. Therefore, Zeena never supported Ethan’s interest in becoming an engineer. Wharton’s mother was alike to Zeena when it came to how her life was lived. Ethan’s lover, Mattie Silver, was taken in by the Frome’s in the novel. She had no family who wanted her just like Katharine Fullerton. Mattie was raised by the Frome’s in a society she did not know how to adapt to because she was never taught how. “Mattie is attempting unsuccessfully to fit in a society she does not understand.”
Ammons, Elizabeth. “Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome and the Question of Meaning.” Studies in American Fiction, Vol. 7, No. 2,
By describing Miranda’s reaction to the old women’s’ questioning, Porter conveys the sense of embarrassment Miranda felt. She describes Miranda’s reaction by using a simile: “with her powerful social sense, which was like a fine set of antennae radiating from every pore of her skin . . . “ Miranda is ashamed because she knew it was rude and ill-bred to shock anyone although she had faith in her father’s judgment and was perfectly comfortable in the clothes.
The following morning, Wharton, who runs in similar business circles as his wife’s second husband, finds himself having slightly strained conversations with Varick, the second husband. The author uses words such as “stammered,” and “hastily” to describe the initial conversation between the two men (225). His day continues and he finds himself trying to
The novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton tells the story of Ethan Frome and the tragedy he faces in his life. The story mainly focuses on the relationships between and among Ethan, his wife, and his wife’s cousin, with whom he is in love. Wharton uses different literary devices to develop the plot, including irony as one of the most effective. The use of irony in the novel, especially in the climatic sledding scene, greatly adds to the development of the tragedy.
Edith Wharton, a famous author of many outstanding books, wrote a chaotic love story entitled Ethan Frome. The story took place in the wintery town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Wharton was a sophisticated young woman who found love in sitting down and holding people’s attention by way of a pen. Wharton wrote yet another thriller that told the tale of two love stricken people that barely found it possible to be together; which later forced them to fall into the temptation of love that cannot be controlled. Wharton had many different writing styles but for different books meant different needs. In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, frustration and loneliness play roles in disappointment while imagery, symbolism, and individual responsibility provide the novel with a tortuous plot.
Eliza Wharton has sinned. She has also seduced, deceived, loved, and been had. With The Coquette Hannah Webster Foster uses Eliza as an allegory, the archetype of a woman gone wrong. To a twentieth century reader Eliza's fate seems over-dramatized, pathetic, perhaps even silly. She loved a man but circumstance dissuaded their marriage and forced them to establish a guilt-laden, whirlwind of a tryst that destroyed both of their lives. A twentieth century reader may have championed Sanford's divorce, she may have championed the affair, she may have championed Eliza's acceptance of Boyer's proposal. She may have thrown the book angrily at the floor, disgraced by the picture of ineffectual, trapped, female characters.
At the start the playwright creates slight allusions that produce tension; Sheila wondered ‘half seriously what had happened to Gerald previous summer when Gerald never went near Sheila’. Lady Croft and Sir George have not come to the engagement feast and Eric is behaving quite anxiously. Eric’s strange behaviour on the cheerful occasion creates trepidation and foreshadows a rather surprising event which interests the audience.
Edith Wharton was the author of The Age of Innocence, a novel published in 1920. In the book, many topics were considered, such as divorce, the empowerment of women, and the lifestyle of the wealthy. The inspiration for these motifs occurred throughout her life. Although Edith Wharton’s work was not well-received, the topics included in her writings held many truths about upper-class society in the late 1800s; therefore, Edith Wharton was influenced by her past and societal experiences.
The sensational novel is usually a tale of our own times. Proximity is indeed one great element of sensation. A tale which aims to electrify the nerves of the reader is never thoroughly effective unless the scene be laid out in our own days and among the people we are in the habit of meeting. In keeping with mid-Victorian themes, Lady Audley’s Secret is closely connected to the street literature and newspaper accounts of real crimes. The crimes in Braddon’s novel are concealed and secret. Like the crimes committed by respected doctors and trusted ladies, the crimes in Lady Audley’s Secret shock because of their unexpectedness. Crime in the melodrama of the fifties and sixties is chilling, because of the implication that dishonesty and violence surround innocent people. A veneer of virtue coats ambitious conniving at respectability. Lady Audley’s Secret concludes with a triumph of good over evil, but at the same time suggests unsettlingly that this victory occurs so satisfyingly only in melodramas (Kalikoff, 9...
Baker, Joseph E. “Irony in Fiction: ‘All the King’s Men.’” College English. Vol. 9. JSTOR.
Westwood, M. “What are examples of Verbal, Situational< and Dramatic Irony in ‘The Story of an Hour.’” E-Notes. E-Notes, Inc., 30 Sept 2013. Web. 17 March 2014
The title of Edith Wharton's novel The House of Mirth waxes poetic irony in the case of the old money society of turn-of-the-century New York. The individual as part of the collective of society which seeks to oppress individuality is representative of the "house" in the novel's title. To remain ignorant and play by the "rules," therein lies the "mirth." Clearly, the victimization of the story's heroine, Lily Bart, by the elite social "set" she associates herself with illustrates Wharton's disdain for the rigidity of this society against the individual. Lily is, at first, an example of the collective society she is a product of; however, as she finds herself being victimized for embracing individuality, a metamorphosis of her character takes place through an internal struggle over the faults of her external world, leading to her discovery of the truth and the loss of her innocence.
Susan Gable’s Trifles is focused on discovering the killer of a local farmer in the twentieth century. In this play the amount of irony is abundant and the irony always relates to solving the murder. The two types of irony that are most easily discerned in Trifles are verbal and situational irony. Irony is when an author uses words or a situation to convey the opposite of what they truly mean. Verbal irony is when a character says one thing but they mean the other. This can be seen in the way the men dismiss the women. Situational irony is when the setting is the opposite of what one would think it would be for what the play is. This is seen through the setting being in a kitchen and various other aspects of the
During the falling action of the play, Gratiano took the chance to jeopardize his relationship with Nerissa when he gives away the ring he sworn he would never lose. As said by Gratiano to Nerissa in the falling action of the play, “Now by this hand, I gave it to a youth.”(4.2.161) when he explains that he gives his ring to the judge’s clerk to his wife Nerissa. Although Nerissa was just joking about taking the ring which disguised as the clerk, it comes to her surprise that her husband has the audacity to break a commitment. This ring plot brings suspense and tension to the scene as the two elements anticipate Nerissa’s reaction and it also gives background information as this scene is one of the major plots in the play. Correspondingly, the role of taking chances is shown in the link between Jessica and Lorenzo. Amid the rising action, Jessica (Shylock’s daughter) escapes her father’s house to abandon him and marry Lorenzo – who her father hates since Lorenzo is a Christian. Before Jessica leaves Shylock, she tells Launcelot – the fool – during the rising action, “I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so; / Our house is hell, and thou a merry devil ... / Lorenzo, who is thy new master’s guest. / Give him this letter, do it secretly” (2.3.1-7). Jessica tells Launcelot that she is also going to leave Shylock and