Young Nabou and Aissatou (dramatic irony)
Aissatou not realizing that young Nabou is being raised to be Mawdo's wife is a type of dramatic irony. From the moment that Aunty Nabou takes young Nabou under her wing to foster her, the reader is suspicious of what might happen, as Ramatoulaye has informed the reader that Aunty Nabou hates Aissatou and wishes revenge. Aissatou, however, has no way of knowing that her hatred went so far, and is unaware of her mother-in-law's sinister plans. While the reader, Ramatoulaye, and the rest of the village realize what is happening, Aissatou remains in the dark, not being informed of the marriage until it is too late.
Aissatou's success after leaving Mawdo (situational irony)
Aissatou's prosperity after leaving Mawdo is an example of situational irony. Despite society's expectations of what happens to single, divorced Senegalese women, Aissatou proves to be wildly successful, eventually working for the Senegalese Embassy in the United States and becoming wealthy enough to get all four of her sons an education plus buy an expensive car for Ramatoulaye. Her situation is even more ironic because of her humble beginnings—even though socially Aissatou is considered the lowest-born character in the novel, she is by far the most successful, both in terms of wealth and in terms of social advancement.
Daba, Binetou, and Ramatoulaye (dramatic irony)
Daba and Ramatoulaye discovering that Modou is Binetou's sugar daddy and later, that he married her, is an example of dramatic irony. Because of the first chapters, we as readers know that Binetou, Daba's close friend, will end up being Ramatoulaye's co-wife, but at the time, Daba and Ramatoulaye have no way of knowing this, so they take her into their home and showing her kindness. This friendliness becomes even more ironic with the reader's knowledge that soon, Binetou will not be welcome anywhere near that house.
Ramatoulaye's Criticism of Tamsir (situational and verbal irony)
In the scene where Ramatoulaye turns down Tamsir's offer of marriage, there is a certain situational irony present in the fact that she now has the opportunity to speak up when she didn't all of those years ago. However, much more prominent is the verbal irony shown through her use of sarcasm, like when she comments on the embarrassment of her daughter, Daba and her husband buying up Modou's property before Tamsir can, saying "What promotion for you! Your friends are going to look at you with envy in their eyes" (61). This is, of course, sarcastic—Tamsir's failure to purchase his younger brother's property suggests a lack of wealth that is socially humiliating.
