Examples Of Dramatic Irony In The Scarlet Letter

The definition of irony, according to Laurence Perrine, involves discrepancy or incongruity while it has a “contrast in which one term of the contrast in some way morks the other term” (177). He also includes three types of ironies; however, there are two more important ironies: dramatic irony and irony of situation. Dramatic irony is the contrast between “what a character says and what the reader knows to be true” (178). And irony of situation is “the discrepancy is between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment…” (178). The theme that fits with those ironies is the reversal of stereotypes. Reversal of stereotypes, defined by Shirley Barlow, is when someone “simply refuses any longer to accept... stereotypes unless

[they] use it [to their] own immediate ends” (158). Both the ironies and the themes go together with the following four works: Euripides’ Medea and Bacchae, Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. The ironies are used to emphasize the overarching theme of reversal of stereotypes.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter includes many types of ironies especially dramatic and irony of situation.

Dramatic irony is the readers knowing that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl while his friends and the townspeople do not know. At the start of the book, the readers know that Dimmesdale was the father because of what happens in chapter three. In that chapter, the crowds taunts Hester and the child while Dimmesdale offers a passionate plea to reveal the father so he could be guilt-free even if he “were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee” (62). And if that is not clear enough, in chapter eight, Dimmesdale defends that Pearl should stay with Hester because God gave her the children and the knowledge to rise it “which no other mortal being can possess” (105). Dimmesdale defends a child, that most of the pastors do not like, because he is the father of that child. And the reason why the pastors distrust the child is because of Hester’s sin of adultery, the sin that causes her to wear the scarlet

letter.
The irony of situation in The Scarlet Letter is the scarlet letter going from the symbol of sin and punishment to a symbol of hope and a badge of honor.

In chapter two, the readers notices a woman walking up to the scaffold and later noticed the “embroidered and illuminated” scarlet letter (51). At first, it was treated as a warning for others of “women’s frailty and sinful passion” (74) while preachers and moralists mention that her crime is "the reality of sin" (74). Then, later on the novel, the townspeople begin to interpret the symbol as able and the “symbol of her calling” (149). And the last transformation of the meaning behind the scarlet letter changes into a symbol of healing for the women in the town, who are facing “recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion” (149). And Hester is made out to be an angel and her scarlet letter has "the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom” (150). The reason that this is an irony of situation because the scarlet letter transforms throughout the novel. And so does Hester as she becomes more of a legend and grows more stronger and more at peace through her suffering. Meanwhile, Ethan Frome tells a tale of a man who has to live forever suffering and grows weaker for

it.
Both dramatic and situational irony appear in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. The dramatic irony of this work is the sledding accident that readers already know since the beginning of the book. When the narrator hears about the story of Ethan Frome, he learns of a “smash-up” that gave Ethan a “red gash across [his] forehead” (1). Then later on the book, we learn of a elm tree that both Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum were almost killed by that tree. This couple serves as a symbol for both Ethan and Mattie's happiness that they could have. And later on the book, they tried to kill themselves by crashing into the tree so they could be together forever. However, they would survive their suicide attempt and have to spend the rest of their lives crippled.
Meanwhile, the situation irony is the epilogue of Ethan Frome. The irony is how Mattie becomes like Zeena and she becomes like Mattie while Ethan is still trapped at the farmhouse. At the epilogue of the work, both the narrator and the reader discover that Mattie was the one sitting on the chair while Zeena was moving around the house feeling better. According to McDowell's Three Novellas About the Poor, she adds that Zeena ironically “finds strength and companionship by caring for her former rival” (66). The reason behind is that Zeena hates Mattie’s “vitality and her tendency to daydream more than she fears Ethan’s interest in her” (66). In other words, Zeena wants the young energy to go on adventures with her lover than stay home all day and do nothing. And she is incredibly jealous of Mattie because of that and the fact that her husband is more interested in being with her. Jealously is the main reason why Medea from Euripides’ Medea goes on a revenge spree to get back at her husband from hurting her.
Euripides’ Medea is one of two works that has situational and dramatic irony in it. At the middle of the play, the reader's’ knowledge of Medea’s plan is an example of dramatic irony. During the play, Medea announces to the Chorus her intention to seek revenge with the following statement: “I only ask to obtain so much from you: if some method or scheme can be found for me to pay my husband back for these sufferings. Keep silent” (259-262). The suffering that she mentions is the fact that she has loved ones (besides her children) and living in a strange city with a husband that cheats on her with another woman. And she is willing and able to carry out the revenge plot because she had killed her brother before leaving her home from Corinth with Jason. Plus, she decides to kill both her children and the royal family in order for the laughing to stop (1362). Thus it is dramatic irony because Jason did not know about the revenge plot; otherwise, he would not accept her pleads. Sadly, Jason had believed that he could have save his children for their own mother.
The irony of situation in Medea is that Jason expecting that he saved his children; however, they still died at the hands of his former lover. At the middle of the play, Medea starts her ruse with trying to convince her husband, Jason, that she was sorry that he had to “put up with [her] moods” (870). Since Jason knew nothing of Medea’s plan of vengeance, he was so happy that he began to imagine the future for his children stating that they will “grow up big and strong, and gain the upper hand over [his] enemies” (920-21). Once he sees his dead children at the end of the play, he realizes that his senses were gone when he brought Medea with him after she killed her own brother. And he just wants to bury them and “weep for them” (1377); however, Medea refused to do allow that. Thus, Medea’s plan was successful enough to revenge her lover because he cheated on her. This is situational irony because Jason thought that everything was going in his way and he was willing to do everything to save his kids from exile. Sadly, his children were killed by their mother who only cared about wanting revenge over their father for an affair. The Bacchae has a similar ending to Medea, where the mother kills her own son while being completely insane.
Euripides’ other work that features dramatic and situation of irony is Bacchae. The situational irony in Bacchae is Pentheus’ departure to Thebes at the hands of his mother, who mistakes him as a lion and cuts his head off. During Act IV, the reader finds Pentheus dressing up to investigate the rites of the maenads in the mountains. While he was fixing his disguise, The Stranger said that he will be carried home in his “mother’s arms” (966). And that is what exactly happens during the conclusion. When his mother, Agave, carries Pentheus’ head throughout the palace while thinking it is a lion's head. Thanks to Cadmus, she is able to snap out of Dionysus’ mind control and realize what she did to her own son. This is situational irony because Pentheus was expecting to be carried in “the lap of luxury” (967). However, Dionysus corrects him by saying that he will “indeed be in [his] mother’s arms” (968).
The most oblivious dramatic irony is how the readers know the Stranger is actually Dionysus while the characters do not know the secret. At the start of the play, Dionysus is in his human disguise as The Stranger. We know that it is Dionysus because Pentheus declared that the worship of Dionysus is ban and he also mocks Dionysus’ hair. While he was arrested in his human form, Pentheus said that Dionysus’s hair shows that he is not a wrestler (455). Then, he threatens to cut them off and puts him in a jail cell until an earthquake ‘destroys’ the palace. And we learn that Dionysus is the Stranger towards the end of Act IV when he says: “I am leading this young man here into a great contest and the victor will be myself and Bromios” (974-75). It unfolds the disgust of the Stranger in front of the audience without Pentheus or anyone else knowing.
The definition of irony, according to Laurence Perrine, involves discrepancy or incongruity while it has a “contrast in which one term of the contrast in some way morks the other term” (177). He also includes three types of ironies; however, there are two more important ironies: dramatic irony and irony of situation. Those ironies fit in with the reversal of stereotypes theme for the four works mentioned. Ethan Frome has dramatic irony and situational irony depicting theme because it highlights how Zeena is the controller of Ethan and Mattie. The Scarlet Letter with the reversal of stereotypes is about how Hester, a woman, is able to move on from a dramatic event that completely changes her life. Meanwhile, Medea is about how a woman’s vengeance and how it reversals the roles of the Greek hero. And in the work Bacchae, the author uses the ironies to show how a feminine men can be as powerful and manipulative as a regular man. These works help emphasize the overarching reversal of stereotypes that the authors put forth in their works for the readers to discover and analyze it.