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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Part 1, Chapter 1: Playing Pilgrims
Explanation and Analysis—Christmas:
The conversation about Christmas and poverty in Chapter 1 foreshadows difficult times ahead for the March family. These first few lines reveal the girls' financial concerns:
'Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. ‘It’s so dreadful to be poor!’ sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.
It's significant that these are the very first lines of the book. Alcott paints a picture of despair that must be overcome, not by financial gain, but by kindness, love, and family. What the girls lack in money they must make up for in spirit.
In the short term, this instance of foreshadowing seems straightforward. The Marches do indeed face difficult times. For instance, their father falls ill, and Jo sells her hair to pay for his treatment. This sacrifice marks Jo's maturation and the pride she takes in refusing Aunt March's financial aid.
But if readers consider the story's whole scope, this moment of dread and hopelessness also precedes great joy for the girls. Amy marries Laurie, Meg marries John Brooke, and Jo inherits Plumfield (which she transforms into a school with her husband Mr. Bhaer). So these first few lines could also be considered an ironic bit of foreshadowing, because after many tribulations, just as many joys await.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Amy:
Amy's fate is one example of situational irony in Little Women. Amy intends to marry for money. She dreams of wealthy friends, expensive jewels, and nice clothes. Her discomfort with the Marches' poverty is evident from the novel's first pages:
"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all."
Amy intends to alleviate her discomfort by marrying a very high-class man. But when she gets the opportunity to fulfill this dream, she turns it down and marries her childhood friend Laurie. In Chapter 41, she regrets her initial stance and reflects on her true feelings about Fred Vaughn:
Fred Vaughn had returned, and put the question to which she had once decided to answer, "Yes, thank you," but now she said, "No, thank you," kindly but steadily, for when the time came, her courage failed her, and she found that something more than money and position was needed to satisfy the new longing that filled her heart so full of tender hopes and fears. The words, "Fred is a good fellow, but not at all the man I fancied you would ever like," and Laurie's face when he uttered them, kept returning to her as pertinaciously as her own did when she said in look, if not in words, "I shall marry for money." It troubled her to remember that now, she wished she could take it back, it sounded so unwomanly.
The irony here is that by giving up her initial dreams, Amy gets them anyway because Mr. Laurence plans to leave his entire estate to Laurie. The audience's expectation that Amy will live a more modest life than she wanted is overturned in the end (when she becomes wealthy after all).
This instance of irony fits into the message of Little Women: there are no greater forms of wealth than love and family, and if you make the right choices in terms of relationships, you will be rewarded, regardless of how much money you have.
Related Themes:
Part 2, Chapter 41: Learning to Forget
Explanation and Analysis—Amy:
Amy's fate is one example of situational irony in Little Women. Amy intends to marry for money. She dreams of wealthy friends, expensive jewels, and nice clothes. Her discomfort with the Marches' poverty is evident from the novel's first pages:
"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all."
Amy intends to alleviate her discomfort by marrying a very high-class man. But when she gets the opportunity to fulfill this dream, she turns it down and marries her childhood friend Laurie. In Chapter 41, she regrets her initial stance and reflects on her true feelings about Fred Vaughn:
Fred Vaughn had returned, and put the question to which she had once decided to answer, "Yes, thank you," but now she said, "No, thank you," kindly but steadily, for when the time came, her courage failed her, and she found that something more than money and position was needed to satisfy the new longing that filled her heart so full of tender hopes and fears. The words, "Fred is a good fellow, but not at all the man I fancied you would ever like," and Laurie's face when he uttered them, kept returning to her as pertinaciously as her own did when she said in look, if not in words, "I shall marry for money." It troubled her to remember that now, she wished she could take it back, it sounded so unwomanly.
The irony here is that by giving up her initial dreams, Amy gets them anyway because Mr. Laurence plans to leave his entire estate to Laurie. The audience's expectation that Amy will live a more modest life than she wanted is overturned in the end (when she becomes wealthy after all).
This instance of irony fits into the message of Little Women: there are no greater forms of wealth than love and family, and if you make the right choices in terms of relationships, you will be rewarded, regardless of how much money you have.
Related Themes:
