The bravest men to exist
Bartholomew is the patriarch of the family and regarded by many as the bravest man ever to exist. This is because Bartholomew served in the First World War and distinguished himself as a brave soldier. It is thus ironic thus to see that towards the middle of the novel Bartholomew gets extremely scared by the sound of fireworks, thus proving that he is far from being the brave hero he was portrayed in the beginning.
An intelligent man
Giles is the youngest character in the story and he is also seen as the most intelligent one, given the fact that he is the only one to have ever had a job. Still, it is ironic to see that despite his intelligence, Giles is unable to hold down a job for more than a few days at most, proving he is far from being intelligent.
Loving family
The Oliver family is extremely dysfunctional. However, they like to pretend they are a big and loving family, carrying for their children and willing to do everything to protect them. Because of this, it is ironic to see Mr. Oliver permanently scare his nephew by making him feel worthless and a coward, without caring at all about his thoughts and feelings.
Easy to understand play
Miss La Trobe is the person who writes the play and chooses the people to play the characters. At the beginning of the book, she claims that she wants to create an easy-to-understand piece, something that can resonate with everyone. Ironically, however, this is not the case and none of the people present understand its message.
Criticizing the wife
Ilasa is criticized by her husband because she no longer presents any interest in him and because she is interested in another man. It is implied at one point that she may have cheated on her husband but this is not proven definitively. What is ironic here is to see that Bartholomew, Ilsa's husband, and her biggest critic, was the one who was having an affair with a woman, thus making him and hypocrite for criticizing his wife for possible doing the same thing.
