“I hate you”
Strout explains, “And the last thing she (his wife) said to him was: “I hate you because I’m going to die and you’re going to live.” As he glanced up at a seagull, he thought, But I’m not living, Betsy. What a terrible joke it has been.” Betsy's hatred for her husband is ironic because he is not the cause of her death. She is manifestly resentful to the extent that she projects her death instinct to her husband; indeed, she is not ready to die, and is envious that her husband who she detests will outlive her.
“He deserved all of it”
Strout writes, “Jack sat on the bench a long time…He understood only this: that he deserved all of it. He deserved the fact that right now he wore a pad in his underwear because of prostate surgery, he deserved it: he deserved his daughter not wanting to speak to him because for years he had not wanted to speak to her…Betsy, though, did not deserve to be dead. He deserved to be dead, but Betsy did not deserve that status.” Jack ironically endorses his pain when he would be expected to wish for recovery and a better existence. The uncanny acceptance of his suffering underscores his remorse which is attributed to the mistakes he made which adversely impacted his relationship with his daughter and deceased wife. Accepting the suffering comforts him that he has paid for his errs.
“She was looking at you so lovingly”
Strout expounds, “And then he remembered something-how curious that he should remember this now: When he had gone in for surgery many years back, to have his gallbladder out, his wife stood at his side in recovery, and when he woke again later a patient near him said, “Your wife was gazing at you with such love, I was struck at how she was looking at you so lovingly.”…And then - years later - during an argument he brought it up and Betsy said, “I was hoping you would die.” The loving gaze is not correspondent with her real wish which is to have her husband dead. She loathes him to the degree that she wishes that he would expire before her. The other patient is convinced that she loves him because he only perceives her facial expression which does not reflect her real wish. Accordingly, adoring gazes are not absolute indicators of adoration.
The Irony of Baby showers
Strout writes, "She (Olive) could not stop thinking how stupid that baby shower had been. All women. Why only women at a baby shower? Did men have nothing to do with this business of babies? Olive thought she didn't like women. She liked men." Men are actively involved in procreation, yet they are excluded from baby showers. The exclusion is ironic because it implies that the baby is a woman's only business. Accordingly, it would be weird to find a male attending a baby shower because his gender is a disqualification.
“I’m not due for another week"
Strout writes, “Olive had said to her (Ashley), ‘ You’re in labor,’ and the idiot child had said, ‘ I think I am. But I’m not due for another week.’ Ashley’s response regarding her due date is ironic considering that Olive delivers her baby on that day. Due to her inexperience, she does not recognize that she is about to deliver a baby. Olive determines that the baby is almost due and helps her deliver in her car. Ashely’s baby is among those who arrive earlier than their due dates. Tracking dates does not increase certainty about the exact date on which a child will be delivered.
