Irony of “Beauty”
Both Shannon/The Narrator and Shane/Brandy were both highly attractive individuals and yet neither of them found fulfillment in their condition. Shannon/The Narrator felt that her beauty was cheapened to a mere commodity. She also felt dissociated from everyone else as a result of it as she tended to get a lot of unwanted attention. Shane/Brandy on the other hand wanted to be a beautiful woman rather than a handsome man.
Irony of “Being Monstrous”
When Shannon/The Narrator was working as a model getting plum gigs, she was at her lowest. She felt cheap and she felt used. She also described that point in her life as feeling that she didn’t have any control over anything as she was constantly being told what to do. After her mutilation however she was able to finally find the peace, sense of freedom, and anonymity that she always sought.
Irony of Identity
The two main characters in the novel struggle with the posited concept of identity as a condition that is rooted in a portion of a person’s physical make up, in effect, identity is tied up to one’s gender, one’s appearance, one’s vocation, etc. The irony here is that the characters in the novel adopt new identities once these conditions change, and they do this a number of times throughout the progression of the story. This change is also accompanied by a corresponding name change.
Irony of the Fashion/Modeling Industry
Shannon/The Narrator holds the fashion industry in great contempt, as it is, at least for her, an institutionalized system of conformity and a means of manipulating people by creating an artificial sense of need. Despite her derision for it she makes a tidy living off of being a model during the early parts of the novel.
Irony of being “Mute”
Prior to her mutilation Shannon/The Narrator was fully capable of speaking. Despite that however she couldn’t voice out any of her opinions as it didn’t matter to anyone and no one really asked for it as her end-all and be-all as a person in the fashion industry was to look good in the clothes she was trying to sell. As a mute, mutilated woman however she finds herself communicating more frequently and more honestly but through the use of more unconventional means such as notepads or through maniacal laughter.
