Rape Fantasies, by Margaret Atwood is overflowing with irony. Almost every type of irony is presented in this short story. From verbal to situational to dramatic irony, this story leaves nothing out. The ironic tone adds depth to the plot and makes the short story much more entertaining.

             Verbal irony consists of understatements, overstatements, and double entendres. In Rape Fantasies all three types are addressed throughout the story. Greta and Chrissy"s rape fantasies understate the impact of rape and what that situation would be like. When Darlene says that they should not go out alone at night, it is an overstatement. Greta responds with a snide understatement, "For heaven"s sake, it"s only Toronto," down playing the chances of rape happening. There is no evidence of double entendres in Rape Fantasies. .

             Situational irony is also interwoven throughout Rape Fantasies. Chrissy and Greta"s rape fantasies are examples of situational irony along with examples of understatements. Their fantasies are not what rape would truly be like but rather what they hope it would be like. Estelle commented about their fantasies by stating that they are just having sex with guys they haven"t been formally introduced to yet and actually enjoy it. Another example of situational irony is in Estelle"s rape fantasies. She states that in her fantasies strangers rape her but statistics show that women are more likely to be raped by someone they know. I believe the reason her rape fantasies are with strangers are because she does not want to admit to herself that someone she knows is capable of raping her. .

             Cosmic Irony is like situational irony but it emphasizes the pessimistic and fatalistic side of life. Darlene"s overstatement about not being able to go out alone at night is a perfect example of cosmic irony. She implies that a woman"s whole life is disrupted by the possibility of being raped.