The biggest irony in this story is the fact that he came back to life as a bird. The reason it's so ironic is the way he died. If he had had wings when he fell from the tree, which was not possible because he was a human being, he would have been able to flap them and fly away to save himself from impact with the ground and ultimate death. While this part of the story has nothing directly to do with relationships, it has value, somewhat indirectly, to the relationship aspect of this story. What I mean by this is that his death was caused by the paranoia he felt during his relationship. So, essentially, the affair led to his paranoia, which, in turn, led to his death. I don't think, however, that Butler was trying to convey what relationships in general lead to