How does James Thurber uses humor in "The Catbird Seat"?

Hopefully, you, too, will find James Thurber's "The
Catbird Seat" as hilarious as I have always found it. Perhaps the comic irony that
Thurber utilizes is the story's strongest point. In the end, the weakest character wins
out over his formidable nemesis in a battle of wits between the sexes. Erwin Martin is a
typical milquetoast Thurber character: meek, mild and set in his ways. Ulgine Barrows is
a woman with strong, masculine traits: She is "profane," drinks and loves baseball,
unlike Martin, who is a milk drinker with little or no interest in sports. Their role
reversal adds to the comic element. The fact that Martin suddenly changes his
plans--from killing her to merely setting her up--is an unexpected twist that even
Martin didn't expect. His transformation before Mrs. Barrow's eyes into a smoking,
drinking, bomb-making doper is hilarious, as is the finale, when their boss assumes that
the woman must be crazy to make such incredible assertions about the forever-bland
Martin.