Dina Mehta’s prose style in ‘The Other Woman’ is marked by its humour and irony. Irony refers to a situation which is the exact opposite of what it is supposed to be. One example to understand the notion of irony is the case of a blind man leading a person with normal eyesight during a power-cut at night. We usually expect people with normal eyesight to help the blind in finding their way but in the above case, there is no light to see by because of a power-cut and it is the blind man, accustomed to walking in the dark, who leads the way. Irony is a powerful device and may be used in many ways—it may be used to give a serious message (like the above example may be used to give the message that we should give due respect and equal rights to the blind) or it may be used for producing humour or commenting on our little follies.

Also notice that the story is not told in a linear fashion. We come to know of the cause of the tension between the couple through Maganlal’s reminiscences while he is sitting at his desk. There is an ample use of adjectives that allows for powerful descriptions. You can see this in phrases like “earnest monologue,” “fastidious care,” “fragile hand,” “prodigalbrother,” “exciting melodrama,” ”tickling humour,” “nouveau riche neighbourhood,” “highly advertised view,” “indefatigable imbecile,” “disreputable liaison,” “swashbuckling valour,” “totalitarian ire,” and so on.

There is playful use of language to produce humour.