Milvain and Reardon’s Friendship
Jasper Milvain and Edwin Reardon’s friendship is tinged with situational irony. Neither agrees with the methods of the other, and neither respects the other as an author. When Reardon’s literary compositions were flourishing, Milvain had no value in the field. When the latter had started to ascend the pyramid of journalism, however, Reardon began his descent into destitution. Following Reardon’s death, his widow marries Milvain, with whom she is happier than she ever was with her former husband. Thus, the bond uniting these two friends is at once questionable and ironic.
Marriage
Marriage in the novel is a concept tainted by irony. Starting with the central couple in the book, the Reardons had supposedly married for love, and yet both their love and wedlock harmony came to an end as soon as they had encountered financial difficulties for the first time. Similarly, Milvain and Marian’s engagement was broken due to the latter’s humble means even though the pair had formerly pledged an undying flame. Alfred Yule and his wife is another example of failed unions which owed their deficiency to penury. Thus, marriage is used to convey the ironical and awkward situation of marriage in late Victorian society.
Class-Clash
Alfred Yule refused and opposed his daughter’s engagement to Jasper Milvain’s on the grounds that the latter was not good enough for her. Ironically, their engagement was broken not because Jasper was not good enough for Marian but because Marian was not good enough for him. He perceived her as a hindrance to his career in journalism and thus had broken up with her.
The Generosity of the Poor
It is the poorest characters, in the novel, who are the noblest and most generous. The most prominent example is that of Harold Biffen whose penury had deprived him even of the necessary sustenance of daily meals. Yet, in spite of his financial difficulties, he is the only friend who stands by Edwin Reardon in his sickness and hardships. Biffen was willing to share the little he had with his companion, and when he had nothing to share he offered his company nonetheless, while other friends, who were financially at ease, had completely ignored or forgotten the ailing man.
Belated Fortune
Amy Reardon inherited a fortune from a dying uncle. This very inheritance could have spared her marriage the grave end with which it had met. At one point of the story, even a little sum could have been the means of deliverance for her. But ironically enough, it was only when everything was as good as gone that she had come to her new capital of few thousands.
