The Doctor and His Patients
The doctor experiences an ironic twist over the course of his visit with his patient. At first, the family is grateful to the doctor, extending their hospitality and even preparing him a glass of rum to drink. However, they quickly turn on him, chanting along with a choir that if the doctor cannot heal the sick patient, they will kill him. This shift suggests two competing interpretations of doctors and others who perform duties for the community; one can view them as dedicated servants who deserve respect and admiration, but a darker interpretation casts doctors as mere tools for people to use in difficult times.
The Doctor's Death
While the doctor is still alive at the end of the story, his final state – naked, in the cold, with two slow-moving horses – suggests that he is doomed to freeze to death. This death is ironic because it was brought on by his decision to help someone else avoid a similar fate. It is also ironic because it is the first time the doctor shows any sign of personal agency (he escapes through the window in an attempt to return home), but that agency backfires once he realizes the horses are no longer moving and he cannot reach his clothing.
