The Virtuous Man
It is hardly a secret that the title character of this novel is one of the most virtuous of any in British literature. It is not a secret because the author keeps reminding the reader of it. Again and again. In fact the repetition of what soon becomes painfully obvious reaches the point where one comes to expect a twist that reveals it has all been for the sake of irony. That twist never arrives, however, but that doesn’t stop the irony from arriving. It is almost impossible for a reader to reach the end of the novel with the high opinion of Daniel still intact due to simple human nature: insist often enough upon the admirable qualities of another person and inevitably the specter of doubt is raised. By insisting that Daniel is the very face of virtue, the ironic effect is that almost every reader will doubt the assertion is so.
Violating Romance Fiction’s Prime Directive
There is one inviolate rule for the female protagonist in a romance story: she cannot enter into marriage with the character the reader knows is the villain for impure reasons of her own. She can marry the nemesis of her true love out of passionate revenge or necessity, but the marriage of Gwendolyn and Grandcourt represents one of the most ironic inversions of romance fiction in the history of literature. Not only does she marry for selfish reasons, but the union quickly devolves into something more appropriate for a sadomasochistic parody of romance fiction.
Book Titles
The novel is divided up into eight separate sections called books and with even given a title. These titles tend to be ironically applied. For instance, the section in which the road to the abovementioned marriage takes place is titled “Maidens Choosing” which carries the note of free will, but Gwendolyn’s ultimate choice to marry Grandcourt is not entirely of her own choice. It is instead a decision made under the pressure of economic circumstances. Likewise “Gwendolyn Gets Her Choice” ironically sticks a knife into the reality that Grandcourt is not really what one would identify immediately as her first and best choice.
Economic Circumstances
Gwendolyn’s dreams of a perfect life will continue to be undercut ironic intrusions of economic circumstances. The most extreme and painful of which will be the inexorable reversal of fortunes of herself and the family Glasher. With the inheritance of an impressive estate by Henleigh and the downturn in Gwendolyn’s financial condition, the relative positions of economic status undergoes a notably ironic inversion.
Men
Mrs. Davilow is given pretty much the last word on the subject of accepting at face value the assertion of virtue in a man. She is referring here specifically to Grandcourt, of course, but the fact that that the vitriol is disguised does not mean that the irony is as well:
Suitors must often be judged as words are, by their standing and the figure they make in polite society: it is difficult to know much else of them. And all the mother’s anxiety tuned, not on Grandcourt’s character, but on Gwendolyn’s mood in accepting him.
