The switched spouse
When his fiancee leaves him for someone else, Pascal should mourn the loss, right? After all, by the word "marriage" the reader might suspect that he loved her and will need time to heal. But actually, he just swaps her out for a new girl and goes ahead with the marriage. The irony is that obviously, it didn't matter who he was with. He was just trying to use someone to test whether he enjoyed marriage or not.
The dead children and mother
The generational aspect of life is one of the most critical mysteries of life, as any parent could attest. But, Pascal is both the child of a parent and the parent of a child, until one day, his daughters die, and then his mother dies. That means that he is ironically detached. His story is severed from his ancestry by death. He doesn't get to enjoy the rich, fulfilling family life. He is ironically isolated, even from his own flesh and blood.
Pascal's reported death
Pascal has to encounter a symbolic reminder of his own death, a news report that states point blank that he is dead and that his body has been recovered. The irony is that, of course he isn't dead; he's obviously still living because the story is continuing. The irony points to the ever-present threat of death, which confounds one's quest for meaning, and it points to the ways that he already feels lifeless and dead.
Identity as a tool
Ironically, Pascal both desires to have a deep, fulfilling experience of self, and he uses his personality as a tool for selfish gain. Whereas most people find reward in sacrifice and role, he hates his roles at work and home, and he sacrifices almost nothing. Then, when he uses his identity as a tool, he isolates himself from community. He is in a puzzle about how one should understand their "self," and one might say he is symbolizing the wrong decisions in that quest.
The irony of meaning
This all points the reader to an ironic theme. The quest for meaning is ironically a quest for discovering sacrifice, says the novel, because Pascal hates his job, because he refuses to "lower" himself to it. He feels it is boring and a waste of his sacred time. It is boring, and perhaps it is a waste of time, but by accepting his lot, perhaps the "waste" would be sacrificial, bringing some deep meaning. This is also true in his marriage, in his family, and in his community. He wants meaning but isn't willing to exhaust his personal resources. Ironically, the frame of the novel gives the meaning away; he is an example of what not to do.
