Irony of emasculation
Esi marries Oko, but she prioritizes her career above her relationship. As a result, Oko believes that he is being emasculated by this. However, it is his insecurity and immoral actions that truly emasculate him. As such, it is not Esi's fault that he feels this way.
Irony of insecurity
Oko wants his wife to prioritize their marriage above her career and academic ambitions. In an attempt to control Esi, he rapes her. This ironically results in her leaving and divorcing him.
Irony of attraction
Although Ali forced his own wife to give up her education in order to become a mother and wife, he is attracted to Esi, who is the complete opposite. In a similar sense, Esi is attracted to Ali even though he displays similar qualities to her abusive ex-husband.
Dramatic irony of Esi and Ali's relationship
As a reader, we might see that Esi will not be happy with Ali from the beginning. This is because he forced his wife to stay at home and stifled her ambitions. As an ambitious character herself, it is obvious that Esi will not be happy with someone like Ali.
