Mr. Foster's Fate
The ultimate irony of the story is the fate of Mr. Foster, who is implied to have died in the broken elevator while Mrs. Foster is in Paris. Though his wife aided in his death by refusing to go back into the house when they were leaving for the airport, Mr. Foster's predicament was ultimately brought on by his own desire to torture his wife: he claimed to have left something in the house when, in reality, it was already in the car, buried in the seat so his wife would not see it. His demise, therefore, stems from his own unforgivable behavior toward Mrs. Foster.
Mrs. Foster's Letters
At the end of the story, before readers discover that Mrs. Foster left Mr. Foster in the broken elevator, the narrator explains that she writes to him every week while in Paris, as promised. These letters are ironic because they at once conceal Mrs. Foster's hand in her husband's death and, at the same time, possess a comedic darkness that nods toward her complicity. "Be sure to take your meals regularly, dear," she says at the end of all the letters, "although this is something I’m afraid you may not be doing when I’m not with you" (33). This sign-off takes on the same attributes of Mr. Foster's character that tortured his wife for so long: her own cruelty is masked by manners, propriety, and feigned care for her husband, who is likely starving to death while trapped in the elevator.
