The Irony of Nurses’ Murder ( Act 1)
Sister Boll elucidates, "Nurse Moser was a member of the league of Lady Wrestlers and Nurse Straub was District Champion of the National Judo Association." The nurses' credentials are an affirmation that they are not weaklings who would not put up a fight should a patient attempt to assault or murder them. They have self-defense skills. Their ironic murders surmise that the patients are smart; hence, they execute their murders intelligently.
The Irony of 'a Great Man'
FRL. Doktor explains, “My father, August von Zahnd, Privy Councillor. He used to live in this villa before I turned it into a sanatorium. He was a great man, a real person. I am his only child. He hated me like poison;…as an expert in economics, he saw, revealed in human beings, abysses which are forever hidden from psychiatrists like myself." Ironically, the doctor regards her father as a great individual regardless of her awareness of his hatred for her and the hatred for other people. The ironic assertion affirms that the impressions of greatness vary among persons; thus, they are largely subjective.
The Irony of ‘Prohibited Smoking’
Inspector states, “Excuse me, Fräulein Doktor, for smoking in here. I gather it’s prohibited.” FRL. Doktor replies, “Smoke away as much as you like, Inspector. I badly need a cigarette myself; Sister or no Sister. Give me a light." First, both Inspector and the doctor violate the requirement of not smoking on the premises when it is clearly prohibited. Second, the doctor is cognizant of the perils of smoking , yet she goes ahead to encourage the inspector to smoke and she smokes. The ironic behaviors depict the tendency of humans to violate rules with the aim of experiencing pleasure.
The Irony of ‘Safety precautions’
Inspector observes, “Two accidents in three months. You must admit that the safety precautions in your establishment would seem inadequate.” FRL. Doktor responds, “ What sort of safety precautions have you in mind, Inspector? I am the director of a medical establishment, not a reformatory. One can’t very well lock murderers up before they have committed their murders, can one?" The safety precautions are intended to prevent murders at the facility but they do not. The doctor is unaware that her patients are sane people who can conceive ways of circumventing the safety precautions. Moreover, the safety precautions do not discourage the patients from committing their crimes as the doctor had anticipated; hence, they are not utter guarantees of security at the facility.
