Veritable, but tasteless love
Once, Adeline talks to Crevel about love. She says that “true love, the sacred love of a devoted woman, gives other pleasures, no doubt, than those that are bought in the open market”! This sounds ironic, because despite her words, Adeline gives her husband Hector true love, but it is without pleasures.
Too modest Crevel
As Crevel tells Baron Hector, he is “not such a fine man as Hector is, and his small attractions hinder him from repairing his losses so easily as Hector can”. However, how funny and ironic it is, because the reader knows that Crevel is not as poor as he claims. He cannot pretend to be modest.
Bette wants to attract men
Concerning her clothes, Bette is as stubborn as a mule. She desires to please no one, but herself and believes herself charming in her curious dresses. Meanwhile, “redesigning all the outfits, in which the old maid seems very funny, no one can admit her on any smart occasion”. The irony is based on the fact that Bette with her untidy appearance wants to find a husband.
