The irony of religious oppression
The Spanish Inquisition is a part of this story in a tragic way, because Esther grows up in a world shaped by the damage that religious fundamentalism caused in her life. She is also the victim of religious oppression in her community, because the conservative community is afraid of the 'damage' she might do by not blindly accepting their dogma. Ironically, Esther is deeply religious and faithful, and a valuable part of their community regardless of what she believes.
The irony of gender
There is dramatic irony about gender, because when we meet Esther, everyone thinks she is just some French boy, but secretly, she is a teen girl in disguise. Ironically, it doesn't really matter at all, but to the people of her time, gender matters so much that if she had been caught during the transport, she would have been instantly returned, but she stays.
The irony of her name
There is an ironic synchronicity between Esther's story and her own knowledge of Esther in the book of Esther from her religious faith. Ironically, the girls have more in common than their name; they are both Jewish teenagers separated from their community by marriage laws, and they both live as private Jews in communities that are not accepting.
The irony of stories
Although stories are typically related to man's search for meaning, it seems that Esther knows something ironic about stories. It isn't the stories themselves that are meaningful, but rather, the act of telling a good story as an act of art and love. By entertaining her community, she earns a place for herself, because humans thrive on story, and everyone loves a good story-teller.
The irony of marriage
The irony of marriage is more obvious in other languages, like in Spanish, where the word for marriage is "esposo/a" which literally means "shackles." Marriage is a kind of social bond, so for Esther, who resists social obligations, it is a prison cell, a kind of doom. Ironically, her community has taken the saying "No daughter of a Jew should have to be unmarried," and they have turned it into a plague against women that women cannot choose to be single like Esther wants to.
