Read the excerpt below and answer the question.
MISS TESMAN: Yes, Hedda, here I am, in mourning and forlorn; for now my poor sister has at last found peace. HEDDA: I have heard the news already, as you see. Tesman sent me a card. MISS TESMAN: Yes, he promised me he would. But nevertheless I thought that to Hedda—here in the house of life—I ought myself to bring the tidings of death . . . . Oh, her end was so calm, so beautiful. And then she had the unspeakable happiness of seeing George once more—and bidding him good-bye.—Has he not come home yet?
Which option best analyzes the use of irony in the excerpt?
a. Although she is not a relative, Hedda learns of the death before George.
b. Miss Tesman sees Hedda as a means for continuing the family line; in reality, she will be responsible for ending it.
c. Hedda's cold and unfriendly manner compared with the sympathetic nature of Aunt Julia.
d. Even though she has just experienced great loss, Aunt Julia is still more sympathetic than Hedda.