What Is The Irony In Old Dorte's Life

There are moments in the book where one could assume that Dorte feels some sort of general happiness, but the moments are few are far between. Dorte has the happy moments, mostly with her beloved aunt, also named Dorte. The pair has a close relationship, explaining the naming of the characters. The main character, young Dorte, appears to not have a healthy relationship with her parents. Helle does not even give names to the parents because of their lack of importance in the novel. This poor relationship with the parents results in a strong and somewhat happy connection with her aunt. The moments where Dorte may have felt happiness or contentedness would have been with her aunt. Helle represents the two Dortes’ enjoying each other by stating, …show more content…
The irony of old Dorte being there for young Dorte is simply that old Dorte has similar toxic behaviors as the main character. Both old Dorte and young Dorte jump from man to man and house to house, never truly settling down. Young Dorte and old Dorte represent how though they have the safety net of the welfare state in their lives, and should technically be happy, it does not fill the void in their lives.

Overall, Dorte’s life is filled with uncertainty and unhappiness. Helle Helle uses this novel to represent the irony of the happiest country in the world. Though Dorte has unlimited opportunities because of the welfare state, she is still unsatisfied and depressed. Her depression is expressed with the abundance of tiredness and lack of emotion. The Aunt Dorte does noticed that her niece seems upset, but the conversation is quickly turned. Helle represents how most mental health conversations go in a Danish society with this example, “‘Hello, love, what a nice surprise. What brings you here?’ She gave me a hug, holding the cigarette at arm’s length, and kissed me on the cheek. ‘We haven’t got lectures today,’ I said. ‘How come?’ ‘We just don’t have them every day.’ ‘Well then, come in.