Three Strikes

13 Pages 3274 Words

t he is untrustworthy of Alice. This is first exposed when Alice informs Waythorn of Mr. Haskett’s visitation privileges. Wharton writes, “What does he want” (Wharton 2). Alice has to reveal that it is to see Lily. Does Waythorn feel threatened by Mr. Haskett? Is it the known or the unfamiliar that brings on this uneasy feeling? Also the fact that when Waythorn unexpectedly runs into Alice’s second husband, Mr. Varick he tries to avoid him. Why? Mr. Waythorn is the one that is married to Alice. The character is first shown not caring about the ex-husbands since they were not in the picture. But now Mr. Waythorn is watching the two previous husbands abruptly halt the path to marital contentment. This is what makes the complexity of this characterization show.
Wharton uses verbal irony throughout the story to keep the readers attention. Verbal irony is a figure of speech, in which the words that are spoken mean something completely opposite. This type of irony is shown beginning with the title, “The Other Two”. Wharton tricks the ...