Verbal Irony: The Walk to the Third Floor
After Maeve loses her room to Norma, her father volunteers to carry her suitcase upstairs. Maeve, trying not to show how Andrea's gotten to her, says ironically, "Well, let's go then...It's a long hike. We should get started if we're going to make it back in time for supper" (56). Her words suggest how far away her new room is: it is isolated and different from her cherished former room. Obviously it's not literally a "hike" to the new room and they certainly would make it back in time for supper, but Maeve's irony is all she allows herself in terms of showing Andrea she is miffed.
Dramatic Irony: Cyril and Andrea
Maeve relates to Danny the information Lawyer Gooch gave her regarding their father's decision to put Andrea's name on everything. She tells him, "you know what Dad said? He said, 'Andrea's a good mother. She'll look after the children.' Like, he married her because he thought she was good with children" (103). In hindsight, Cyril's words were terribly ironic, as Andrea being a good mother to her own daughters (which, given Bright's future estrangement from her, does not seem all that accurate either) does not entail that she will be a good mother to Danny and Maeve. In fact, she turns out to treat them quite poorly.
Dramatic Irony: Family
When Maeve and Danny drop Celeste off and meet her family on Thanksgiving, Mrs. Norcross invites them to stay and then corrects herself: "What am I saying? You're just home yourself. Columbia! Your parents must be dying to see you" (141). This is ironic because Danny and Maeve have no real family, which is the essential tragedy and conflict of the novel.
Situational Irony: Heart Attack
One would not expect someone who just had a heart attack to say that it was the best day of their life, but after her heart attack, Maeve tells Danny, "I'm so happy. I've just had a heart attack and this has been the happiest day of my life" (265). Maeve's heart attack is what brought Elna to the surface and back into her life, so despite the physical pain, this is indeed a happy day for Maeve.
