Voltaire Has A Heart Condition (Dramatic Irony)
At the beginning of the novel, Nora's cat, Voltaire, dies on a road near her home. It is one of the many things that make her feel hopeless about the future. In the Midnight Library she asks to live out the life where she keeps her cat inside, as she believes that he died from being struck by a car. What she learns is that he died from a heart condition and that her leaving him outside actually ensured his life was as long as possible. In this instance of dramatic irony, Nora discovers that her actions did not have the consequences she initially assumed they did.
Ryan Bailey Is Boring (Situational Irony)
In her root life, Nora has a small crush on the movie star Ryan Bailey. In various other lives, she sees posters of a movie he is in and thinks about him. However, during a phone call in her life as a rock star, she learns that she was in a relationship with him. After talking to him for a few minutes, she gathers that he is actually extremely shallow and not very intelligent. In this moment of situational irony, she finds that while he appeared alluring from a distance, up close he is not very appealing.
The Labyrinthes Don't Save Joe (Situational Irony)
After thinking about her music career, Nora decides to see the life she would have led had she made a record and gone on tour with her band, The Labyrinthes. She seeks out this life in part because she hopes that in that life she and her brother will be close. She feels this way because breaking up the band caused a great deal of friction in her root life. Unfortunately, she learns during a podcast episode that her brother died in this timeline and that being in the band together did not strengthen their relationship. In this instance of situational irony, Nora attempts to salvage her relationship with her brother, only to discover the unexpected consequences of her actions.
The Polar Bear Encounter Makes Nora Want to Live (Dramatic Irony)
In her life as a glaciologist, Nora is asked to keep watch for polar bears as they present a danger to the research team. She goes outside and first sees a walrus. Then, she notices a bear in the distance. She is overcome with fear and tries to make some noise to ward it off. She also discovers that she is unable to return to the library. In the moment that she feels terrified, she becomes aware of how badly she wants to live. In this instance of dramatic irony, a moment in which she is in real danger reminds her of how much she wants to keep living.
