The Father of the Female Letter Writer (Situational Irony)
The father of the female letter writer in “Children of the Sea” vehemently opposes his daughter’s relationship with the male letter writer. Because the young man is from a lower socioeconomic background, the father doubts that he can adequately provide for his daughter. He wants his daughter to marry someone that can improve her already high living standard. Later in the story, we learn that the father of the female letter writer was a gardener from Ville Rose and his wife was from a university-educated family that lived in the city. They also did not have the approval of the mother’s family, but got married anyways. Considering how similar his own story is to the female and male letter writers’, it is ironic that the father of the female letter writer isn’t more understanding and supportive.
Marie’s Arrest (Dramatic Irony)
In “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” the story ends with the main character Marie getting arrested. She has been wrongfully accused of killing a baby girl for evil purposes. The person who reports Marie to the authorities is a Dominican man who works with her at the home of a wealthy Haitian couple. Prior to Marie “adopting” Rose, Marie and the Dominican man had been intimate with each other. Because of their shared past, it is logical to think that the Dominican man would be more sympathetic to Marie’s situation–at least, more sympathetic than her employers, who already call Marie a “manbo” behind her back. Ironically however, it is the Domincan man, and not Marie’s employers, who arranges for her arrest.
Suzette’s Mother (Dramatic Irony)
The entire “New York Day Women” story is ironic. From Suzette’s mental musings, it seems as if her mother is completely uncomfortable with American customs and the American way of life. According to Suzette, her mother refuses to dine out with other people, she refuses to take the subway, and she rarely steps foot out of the Brooklyn area of the city. So, imagine Suzette’s shock when she sees her mother pounding the pavement in the middle of Manhattan. After leaving her mother “at home that morning in her bathrobe, with pieces of newspaper twisted like rollers in her hair,” Suzette ironically sees her again in the last place she would have expected (Danticat 144).
Célianne’s Identity (Dramatic Irony)
Célianne, the young pregnant girl in “Children of the Sea,” makes a posthumous appearance in “Caroline’s Wedding”: Hermine’s church, Saint Agnes Church in New York City, hold a mass in her honor. Ironically, none of the characters in the story knows Célianne’s name or her full story. They know nothing about how her baby was conceived, nor do they know the exact circumstances of her death. All they know is that Célianne committed suicide when it became clear her baby was dead. The fact that the reader knows more about Célianne’s life than the characters in the story is an example of dramatic irony.
