This chapter extends the interpretation of Terry Eagleton’s ironic criticism found in Chap. 4 by focusing on ironic misrecognition as a structure of human subjectivity and ethical awareness. This is introduced via Eagleton’s study, Trouble with Strangers (2009), which draws on Lacan’s three registers of subjectivity—imaginary, symbolic and Real—to critique different approaches to ethics. Several implications are extended from Eagleton’s ethics which relate to religious tradition, law and identity. Lacan’s imaginary, symbolic and Real are playfully juxtaposed with two New Testament narratives, Luke’s Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector (Lk 18:9–14) and John’s account of Mary’s hospitality (Jn 12:1–8). These two scenes show how misrecognition, far from leading to detachment, can serve as an impetus for ethical action and love. In Luke’s parable, the Pharisee embodies a performative and legalist approach to ethics; by contrast, the tax collector represents ethical transformation that beings in the recognition of fallibility. With a similar focus on humility, John portrays Mary anointing Jesus’ feet as a form of gratitude (eucharist). In Mary’s intimate devotion, loss figures presently as gain and self-estrangement forms a more enduring basis for compassionate and transformative community.