Question

In the story “The Devil and Tom Walker,” what does Washington Irving’s humorous and ironic word choice in describing Tom’s reaction to his wife’s disappearance and possible death tell you about Tom’s relationship with her?

Answer 1

With Washington Irving’s word choice "Old Scratch must have had a tough time of it!", he says that Tom Walker didn't get along with his wife. In the story, the author descrives Tom's wife as a tall termagant, fierce of temper, loud of tongue, and strong of arm. And it says that they often had conflicts.So, with the phrase "Old Scratch must have had a tough time of it!", Tom actually commiserates the devil aka Old Srcatch.