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Definition of Verbal Irony
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging outside and someone remarks "what... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. When there's a hurricane raging... read full definition
Verbal irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean... read full definition
Part 10: Ilsa Hermann's Little Black Book
Explanation and Analysis—Door or Window:
In Part 10: Ilsa Hermann's Little Black Book, Ilsa Hermann shows up on Liesel's doorstep with a blank book for her to write in. When Liesel invites her in, Frau Hermann responds with verbal irony:
The girl opened the book and touched the paper. “Danke schön, Frau Hermann. I can make you some coffee, if you like. Would you come in? I’m home alone. My mama’s next door, with Frau Holtzapfel.”
“Shall we use the door or the window?”
Liesel suspected it was the broadest smile Ilsa Hermann had allowed herself in years. “I think we’ll use the door. It’s easier.”
Frau Hermann is not really asking Liesel if they should go into the house through the door or the window. She is teasing Liesel about the girl's habit of climbing through her study window to steal books, as though Frau Hermann would not have let her in if she knocked on the door. Beyond the teasing, Frau Hermann is conveying the opposite of uncertainty about using the door. These two characters both have a history of pushing people away because of their survivors' guilt; they have struggled to believe that they deserve to ask each other for companionship. With this one joke and smile, Frau Hermann establishes that she and Liesel are done pushing one another away. From now on, they will never hesitate to knock on one another's door.
This is an example of a moment when, against all odds, characters in the novel find a way to access levity. In part, these moments give the reader a break from all the heaviness and cruelty in the story. More importantly, they are often instrumental to the characters' own survival. Liesel and Frau Hermann's friendship saves both of them in more ways than one. Frau Hermann gives Liesel the book that she is writing in when the Himmel Street bombing occurs; had she not been writing in the basement, she would have died. Frau Hermann also takes Liesel in after the bombing. The two of them coax each other out of their survivors' guilt and go on to live lives defined by more than the tragedies they have each endured.
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