The irony of pregnancy
In most cases, the burden of bearing the pregnancy is rested on women. Culturally, men assume that any woman can conceive as long as she has sex with her husband. In cases where women cannot conceive, the blame is shifted on them because they are assumed to be barren. Ironically, sometimes the problem of not conceiving lies on men. For instance, The Duke of Austria is impotent, and he threatens to divorce her if she does not become pregnant.
The irony of fathers
When an anonymous imposter disguises himself as the Duke of Austria and sleeps with his wife, she becomes pregnant. The Duke of Austria believes that he is responsible for his wife's pregnancy, and he is happy. Ironically, The Duke of Austria is not the biological father of the baby to be born. Therefore, the reader realizes that many fathers out there bring up children thinking that they are theirs biologically.
The irony of the death of the Duke of Austria
The Duke of Austria raises a son who he thinks is his biologically. The baby grows up to be rude, murderer, and rapist, among other evil vices. For instance, the author hints that most nannies taking care of the Duke of Austria's son died because of the baby's actions. When the boy became mature, he raped women, including nuns, and killed other women who objected to his advances. The worst action of the Duke's son is burning the nuns inside the convent after raping them. The Duke cannot take the embarrassment of his son anymore, and he dies. Ironically, the Duke dies a shameful death for the son's sins, who is not even his biologically.
Sir Gowther’s abrupt change in character
When the Duke of Austria dies, Sir Gowther takes over the leadership as the new Duke. However, people are nervous that the character of the new Duke is going to destroy the country. Sir Gowther has heard people say that he has a different identity and might not be the true son of the late Duke. Sir Gowther goes to her mother and threatens to kill her if she fails to tell him the truth about his identity. The mother is shocked and reluctantly tells him the truth. Ironically, instead of sir Gowther becoming wild and annoyed, he drops his sword and begs for forgiveness. Later, Sir Gowther goes to the Pope in Rome to ask for pardon.
The construction of an abbey by Sir Gowther
Sir Gowther goes a lot in his life, especially after pleading for pardon from the Pope. However, the Pope did not forgive him because he deserved more punishment for everything he had done before. Instead of forgiveness, Sir Gowther is taken to live with dogs as a fool and must eat food chewed by dogs. Miraculously, a day came when Sir Gowther managed to escape disguised as a soldier and participated in a war in which h emerged victoriously and later declared the emperor of Germany. Ironically, Sir Gowther decides to build an abbey and attaches it to the convent to commemorate the nuns he raped and burned alive. No one expected Sir Gowther to do such an act and encourage people to pray for miracles at the abbey.
