The Irony of Myrtle and Bevil Jr.'s Potential Duel
Myrtle and Bevil Jr. have long been friends, since childhood actually. When Myrtle confesses his love for Lucinda, he is gravely disappointed to learn that Bevil Jr. is being groomed to marry her. The two nearly engage in a duel over their respective suites, but they are able to talk each other down. If they had fought, they would have undone years of friendship over nothing because Indiana's game changing hidden identity still would have allowed Myrtle to marry Lucinda and prevented Bevil Jr. from doing so.
The Irony of Indiana's Fortune
Indiana is not a wealthy young woman. In fact she's been raised as a servant. She has no social standing, wealth, or family. When she drops a bracelet in Mr. Sealand's presence, he recognizes it as the bracelet of his dead first wife. Instantly he understands that Indiana is the daughter he never met. In a second, her life is completely transformed as she becomes his partial heir. All she needed to do to help herself all along was to speak to the man whom she suspected of being her father.
The Irony of Bevil Jr.'s Suit for Lucinda
Bevil Jr. doesn't want to marry Lucinda. Actually he's in love with Indiana, but he cannot marry her because she's poor and of a lower social class. His father is forcing him to pursue Lucinda. He's simply in love with the wrong sister.
The Irony of Mrs. Sealand's Preference for Cimberton
Mrs. Sealand really wants to marry her daughter off to Cimberton. She insists on the suit -- and even tries to marry them in secret while her husband is away -- because of Cimberton's vast fortune. This reason makes perfect sense; she wants more wealth in the family. Actually it is revealed that her true reason is because he is her distant cousin, and she's trying to get on that family's good side with the marriage. These are dangerous games to play.
The Irony of Myrtle's Providence
Myrtle is powerless to change his situation. He wants to marry Lucinda for love -- and she does too, -- but he cannot because he's too poor. She has much more attractive suitors, and ultimately the young people's parents have the final say on who she marries. By pure chance, Myrtle is given everything he ever wanted when Indiana's paternity is revealed, and she stands to inherit half of Mr. Sealand's fortune. Lucinda's dowry is lowered as her inheritance has been sliced in half, so she is now free to marry the extremed fortunate Myrtle.
