Irony arises scheduled to the incongruity between what might be likely and what actually occurs. The word irony is derived from the Latin phrase 'ironia' meaning feigned ignorance. Dramatic Irony is often used as a device by playwrights. Irony may produce a tragic impact, or a comical effect depending after the circumstances in the play or the book. There are many different types of irony including remarkable, verbal and situational irony. Remarkable irony is one that is used extensively in both these works. In this article I will look at the employment of dramatic Irony as a tool by Henrik Ibsen in his modern tragedy, 'A Doll's House' and by Isabel Allende in her novel on love, magic and family delight 'The House of Spirits'.
Henrik Ibsen, in a very Doll's House uses the speakers to hire both conscious and unconscious irony whereas Isabel Allende uses irony along with marvelous realism. Allende, similar to Ibsen, uses irony to determine the love between Esteban Treuba and Clara. She also uses irony in the play to bring to light the position of women in that society also to expose the society's imperfections in those times.
Henrik Ibsen's use of irony in his play is quite unique. Henrik Ibsen focuses mainly in the job of irony in the marital marriage of Nora and Helmer. Irony is set up early on in the play during Nora's chat with Mrs. Linde, where she says "d'you really know what a stroke of fortune we've had?" where she speaks, or somewhat brags about her man getting marketed as the director of the bank. She says, "To have no more concerns, all you need. Isn't it wonderful?"2 and also "Not just all you need, but lots of money too"3. Here, Nora visualizes a happy and blissful life with Helmer along with an implied meaning about her loan. However, there may be unconscious irony in what she says because later on in the play, her marital romance will be shattered and she will leave her hubby and everything the 'money' that she experienced visualized, for an uncertain future in the extensive world noticing that the earth she was moving into was exactly analogous to the world of a puppet, or rather, a doll. Hence, the name "A Doll's House" is an apt one. Another illustration of unconscious irony is the words of Mrs. Linde in this talk with Nora. When she says "Nora, Nora perhaps you have still not grown up? You were an luxurious little thing at school"4, she still considers Nora to be the little child she got known, but would later realize Nora's transformation, from the child-like girl she had recognized to an accountable and conscientious woman.
This instance can be in comparison to that in Allende's 'The House of Spirits' where Clara transforms from a care-free female living in her own world to a accountable woman who decides to make Tres' Marias a better place to reside in. When Blanca commentary "Mama, you have changed"5, Clara replies "It's not me who's modified, it's the world. "6 Checking these cases, we start to see the dissimilarities as well as the similarities between your employments of irony of the two writers. While Ibsen has used irony as an instrument to portray the real human protection under the law which he thinks are ideal, whereas, Allende has used irony in the same context along with the instances portraying individuals pride and characteristics.
Allende also focuses on the aspect of poverty during the passage of time along with other issues addressed around the world such as Marxism, Bolshevik ideas and Socialism as well as the discord between them. The need for pride and esteem in modern culture is discernible very in early stages in this novel. Losing esteem in the modern culture was something that could not go down with anyone well, especially Esteban Treuba. He was ready to quit his child to a man whose history was unfamiliar to him and also that he would be paying him for keeping this marriage intact shows how desperate Esteban Treuba was to get his little girl committed to someone of the upper classes to uphold his value in the population. On the politics leading, Esteban Treuba's self-assurance in his party and his oblivious frame of mind towards other functions would lead to his downfall. When Senator Treuba says, "That is another country. Here the Conservative Get together wins evidently and openly, and we don't desire a standard to keep things orderly and calm, nothing like the neighboring dictatorships. "7 This would indeed turn out to be ironical because the precise opposite of what's quoted would happen as his Party would finish up losing the elections denting his satisfaction all.
Comparisons may also be drawn between the job of irony regarding the respect and position in the culture. Ibsen has used Helmer as a model for the arrogant man of the 19th century where he has little or nothing else to think of but his own value in the society. Helmer here talks about how precisely his admiration in the culture means everything to him and his desire to keep this respect on track. All of this is portrayed when he says "Your daddy wasn't a respectable public formal. I am. And I hope I'll continually be so, as long as I stay in any office. "8 Here, he identifies Nora's father when he, as a lawyer, have been commissioned by the town authorities to look into allegations that Nora's dad had mishandled general population funds. Here, there is unconscious irony as his image as a respectable public in the contemporary society will be shattered when Nora leaves Helmer and moves on to be her own person in the foreseeable future. Ibsen has portrayed in his writings what he has quoted: "for me it has been a question of human being privileges my activity has been the portrayal of human rights. "9
Ibsen and Allende also have used irony to illustrate the love existing in the marital relationships of Nora and Torvald and Esteban Treuba and Clara. In "A Doll's House", Torvald considers Nora to be a feeble-minded woman and their relationship was similar to that between a daddy and a little girl. Another exemplory case of unconscious irony is in the final action of the play where Torvald discussions lovingly to Nora declaring "I envision you're my new young bride-to-be, we've just result from the marriage"10 given that Torvald could not have thought that in a short span of energy, Nora would leave him to venture in to the cruel world outside to be her own person. The partnership between Clara and Esteban Treuba is a contrast to the partnership of Nora and Torvald. Esteban Treuba, though very caring and compassionate towards Clara, she remains very indifferent to him. "She experienced already made her brain to marry without love. "11 This quotation is directed towards Clara, who's just like a celestial being most importantly others in her world. "She was a charitable and good woman, eager to make those around her happy- everyone except me. "12 The speaker in this offer is Esteban Treuba and discusses the love existing or somewhat, corresponding to him, the love that been around between him and Clara conveying his thoughts that Clara's desire and love for him has expired. That is extremely ironical because Clara's desire and love for him experienced never existed.
In this essay, we have seen how irony has been used as a dramatic tool by Henrik Ibsen and Isabel Allende. Both creators have used irony in their text messages to emphasize the imperfections in their societies also handling different issues on earth especially the male chauvinism. They also bring to light the love existing in the marital associations in their works. Overall, through their works, they may have stirred the foundations with their societies.
