Innocence and experience
This story is shaped with irony in mind, because through dramatic irony, Else was led to encounter the real world with romantic ideas about what it might be like. When she figures out that the world is kind of bad, the realization throws her into panic spirals and she has a hard time grasping the painful reality of life. One of the most poignant aspects of this is her realizing that her sexuality is regarded as inherently shameful, while men seem to be free from that shame entirely.
Sexual shame and innocence
The irony that Else feels with regard to her shame is sorrowful and ironic. She isn't guilty of anything, but she is still shamed, as if it were a sin to be desired by others. The shame is compounded by her very natural desire to have sex. She is coming of age, so naturally, she is sexual and desirous. Then she realizes that her dependency on her distant uncle, Von Dorsday, could make prostitution a real temptation for her. She needs money and wants to have sex, and if sex is already shamed, what is the risk? She decides against prostitution, but decides in herself to "be a slut, but not a prostitute."
The failed quest
The plot of the novel is ironic because one might suspect a hero's quest here, where a young person sets out to save her folks from dire straights, and then through magic and timing, she wins the day and saves them. But actually, she collapses under the weight of fate and the injustice of the world around her. In the end, she dies before completing her quest, showing that this story has a different meaning than the hero's narrative. The story is showing a systemic brokenness, because she atmosphere of the novel kills the heroine.
The parent's dependency
The irony of the crisis was plain from the start. The man is supposed to be responsible, because women are chronically disenfranchised from opportunity by stupid beliefs about women that they aren't capable of earning money. But, that leaves Else and her mom in serious turmoil when the father turns out to be a bit of a dud. He gets himself arrested, and then the brokenness of the culture is exposed; they were overly dependent on a fallible person, and then when they work hard, the culture doesn't allow them to succeed. It is additionally ironic that parents should depend on children and not vice versa.
The final outfit
When Else leaves her house for an important meeting with Von Dorsday, she dresses in an ironic way. She strips naked, and then covers up with only an overcoat, so that she is perfectly naked to herself, but still clothed to the world. This irony is a clue to the reader to try and interpret her intention. One might say that it symbolizes acceptance of self, because she likes to feel her nakedness, but she accepts responsibility for the demands of the public. Then, she dies, and the book remembers this as her final outfit, again, suggesting symbolic interpretation.
