The Irony of Kindness
Frantisek tells Vladimir, “The Russians of this calibre, they only understand one thing: cruelty. Kindness is seen as a weakness; kindness is to be punished. Do you understand? You are not dealing with Petersburg academicians here or enlightened members of the fourth estate. These are the people that brought half this continent to her knees at one point. These are murderers and thieves.” Frantisek exploits the irony of kindness to convince Vladimir that he should be cruel when dealing with Russians. According to Frantisek, being kind to the Russians would not be fruitful since they are callous people who hardly espouse benevolence.
“Tomas is a wonderful man”
Morgan asserts Tomas’ wonderfulness to counter Vladimir’s insinuation that he (Tomas) was not apt to be Morgan’s lover. However, Morgan’s assertion is ironic considering Tomas’s assertion: “I was privileged…to be Morgan’s companion from 12 may 1992 through 6 September 1993.On the morning of 7 September, she ended our love relationship and we have been since then steadfast friends.” If Tomas was unequivocally ‘wonderful,’ then Morgan would not have terminated their affair. And so, the aspect of ‘wonderfulness’ does not bolster their romance.
