The irony of nature's cruelty
The winter represents a kind of cruelty built into the seasons of nature. The people in this story have to strive against that nature, conquering the winter by learning to adapt to a new normal. But, they do something even more ironic. They not only survive the winter, but they settle in it. They build communities where the weather is a deadly risk, which is ironic and beautiful.
The irony of dogs and deer
Dogs and deer have no "hunting season." They are literal expressions of nature, so they are also ironic because nature has manifested both food (deer) and competitors (dogs). The men and dogs are at odds with one another for survival, because they share prey animals, and also because the dogs are territorial. The most ironic part of this motif is the humans, because they feel different and unique from the dogs, but they are actually very similar in nature, especially when Elizabeth joins an illegal hunt on the mountain.
The irony of mountain life
In the mountain, society begins to gradually weaken its grip on people. The mountain is a kind of device by which characters are removed from their societal context, and they are challenged to accomplish a feat (climbing a mountain) to get a goal (vantage) and they are far enough away from town that typically, laws start to mean less and less. This irony is demonstrated when a ragtag gang hunts deer illegally in the mountain, which Elizabeth knows she would never do if she were near town.
The irony of imprisonment
Another part of human life that stands ironically against animal nature is imprisonment. They enforce law by imprisoning offenders, which is ironic considering the purely free nature of all other animal life in the story. The imprisonment is symbolic in nature, and it shows the way society limits human free will by imposing strict rules around it. The relationship between human nature and human law is ironic.
The irony of love
The version of love seen in this novel is ironically survival oriented. Oliver and Elizabeth have lived experiences of survival, and it is to share these bits of strategy and wisdom and to collaborate that they even get married at all. Although marriage feels societal, it is ironically natural, ordained by the dangerous life they live so nearby the wilderness. The wedding is ironic as well because it provides a catalyst for someone to die, and another person to leave, which are both starkly opposed to weddings in nature.
