I will now give a little background to each of the novels. The first is ‘Persuasion’. ‘Persuasion’ was Austen's final completed novel and was written between 1815 and 1816, and published incompletely revised immediately after her death with ‘Northanger Abbey’. As so often in Austen's novels, ‘Persuasion’ concerns the social issues of her time and particularly the matter of class. The story begins with the letting of Sir Walter Elliot's seat, Kellynch Hall, to his annoyance as a man of self-elaborating and showy tendencies. Persuasion is the tale of the romance between his pretty and friendly younger daughter Anne who meets the novel's hero, Captain Wentworth and in spite of social barriers and the rival Musgrove sisters - Louisa and Henrietta - pursues his affection having once turned him down as a spouse. Accidents and various engagements ensue leading to what the reader hopes will be another finale of poetic justice and requited love.
The next novel is ‘Emma’. Jane Austen began writing Emma in 1814, though it was not published until 1816, and then it was anonymous (as were all of her novels initially due to the prejudices of her times). Emma Woodhouse, the eponymous heroine (of sorts) is endowed with wealth, good looks, prestige and is, moreover, well aware of how clever she is. Anne Taylor, who had been extremely close to both Emma and her father, marries Mr Weston. In the absence of this confidante, Emma looks for a new friend and becomes acquainted with the 17-year old, illegitimate girl Harriet. Emma tries to aid Harriet with a series of catastrophic schemes to prove the girl to be of worthy parentage and deserving of a good man. However, in doing so, she prevents Harriet from marrying Robert Martin who despite being an eligible young farmer is deemed by young Woodhouse to be 'beneath' Harriet. She tries to bring together the orphan and Mr Elton, a young vicar who in fact despises Harriet. Such tinkering much annoys Emma's brother-in-law Mr Knightley. He can see Emma's faults in a way in which the girl herself cannot. Emma is the story of the self-styled protagonist's gradual realisation of her own lack of self-knowledge. Along the way there is much in the way of heartbreak, romance and detailed, subtle character portraiture. It is widely considered to be Austen's finest work and the one, which most fulfils her ambition to present the lives of a small community of "three or four families in a country village" realistically and excitingly. It is often very amusing and is a wonderful depiction of the workings of a well-meaning but ill-directed mind wishing to act selflessly.
And lastly but not least is ‘Pride and Prejudice’. ‘Pride and Prejudice’, treats us to the world of the five Bennet sisters, their parents and relatives, their small society, and their romantic interests. At the beginning we are introduced to the major themes by witnessing the proud arrogance of Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the prejudice of Elizabeth Bennet in her assumption that Mr. Darcy is "last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry." The stories of two major (and two minor) courtships open out in the course of the novel. Elizabeth and her sister, Jane, cope with the hitches placed before their ultimate marriages to Darcy and his friend, Charles Bingley.
Meanwhile Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte, accepts the hand of Mr. Collins. The other minor relationship, that of Lydia, the youngest Bennet sister, and Elizabeth's former suitor, Mr. Wickham, ends in similarly humiliating circumstances, with Wickham taking the life of Mr. Collins in a duel that need never have taken place. Along the path to the eventual happy outcomes for Elizabeth and Jane, we meet Lady Catherine De Bourgh. However at the end of the play Jane and Bingley get married and so do Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
I will now analyze the different types of irony used by Jane Austen. I will commence by showing the way Austen shows irony in dialogue and description. The way in which irony is produced in what the characters say to each other and principally concerning each other. This is very important because it is the one occasion when we actually get to note what the characters feel about each other, and about certain situations. In ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Elizabeth’s witty irony is shown when she notes that Bingley’s sisters were therefore ‘in every respect entitled to think well of themselves and meanly of others” (pg 10).
Then we look at Mr. And Mrs. Bennet. The two are always sarcastic with each other. In fact I would think that most of their conversations are ironic. When Mr. Bennet says to Mrs. Bennet “you are over scrupulous surely” (pg 52). Mr. Bennet thinks his wife is hyperactive. Their conversations are ironic on a whole because they mainly contradict the first line of the novel “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (pg 51). When Jane and Bingley danced all night long, then the whole society in the novel assumed that ‘if you were fond of dancing, then it certainly was a step towards falling in love’. Yet there is a truth in the rumor: within the context of that society, dancing was the only way that two people could have a private conversation in public.
This now brings me back to Elizabeth’s dialogue. She does not get along with Mr. Darcy at first but they end up getting married. The way she speaks ill about Mr. Darcy is very ironic. She describes him to be “a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing (pg 9). Subsequently when Darcy was told to dance with Elizabeth primarily he was not keen on the proposal and described her as “tolerable…but not handsome enough”. The two have more conversations, which lead to irony. For instance when Jane was invited for lunch and the Bingley’s, Elizabeth had to go there due to unforeseen circumstances. She has a conversation with Darcy about how women in that society should be. This is when he begins falling in love with Elizabeth, while not acknowledging it.
Mr. Bennet is very ironic towards Elizabeth falling in love. He thought that she would be his ‘only sensible’ daughter, but instead she falls in love with Wickham, the wrong gentleman. And later falls in love with Darcy. Mr. Bennet is very ironic about this as he tells Jane “your sister is crossed in love, I find. I congratulate her” (chapter 24). And he describes Wickham to be making ‘love to us all’. This is the irony of his favorite daughter falling in love. Charlotte’s views are also ironically expressed as she says ‘marriage had always been her object’.
In Persuasion, Anne also has a lot of ironic discourse like Elizabeth. In chapter three the fact that she knows Wentworth’s name adds to the irony “‘You mean Mr. Wentworth I suppose’, said Anne” (pg 28), and it still in the state of creating irony. In this novel we come across another Elizabeth- the sister of Anne. At one point she mentions that no one will want Anne in Bath, this is an irony because Jane Austen wants to diminish our sense of Anne’s real worth. In this novel there is also a surface meaning and a deeper meaning. In this we being the readers know what is happening but the characters do not. In this novel Anne and Wentworth do love each other but say the opposite to each other. Mr. Wentworth says he wants a woman with “A strong mind, with a sweetness of manner”, (pg 62). Anne seemed not to be all of this Anne in Wentworth’s view, and he was in a roundabout way referring that he has no feeling for her and probably never will. Ultimately she was this sort of character but Wentworth thought she was not because she was persuaded by Lady Russell not to marry him.
Ironically Anne’s ‘good advice’ came from Lady Russell and ironically so did the persuasion not to marry Wentworth. Anne was “persuaded to believe the engagement a wrong thing…Lady Russell, whom she had always loved and relied on” (pg 31).
Yet on the contrary, in chapter thirteen when Anne changes physically and mentally, it is ironic that the revitalization of her looks, which her friend Lady Russell takes as a sign that she has not been unduly disturbed by Wentworth’s return is probably due to the revival of her passion for him. At the end of the novel Anne is very whimsical when she says, “There was nothing less for Lady Russell to do than to admit to herself that she had been completely wrong and to take up a new set of opinions and of hopes” (pg 251). On this note it would be worth mentioning that Lady Russell was described as a woman with “a sensible, deserving woman” (pg 11). And Anne “rated Lady Russell’s influence highly” (pg18). I would just like to mention that at this point the wisdom of this woman had been referred to repeatedly throughout the novel. As readers we have been granted insights all along, but it is nonetheless surprising to encounter so absolute a dismissal. Is Jane Austen adding a further touch of irony to our perception of this character?
This now brings me to ‘Emma’. Irony also lies within the character of the main heroine Emma herself. The way that Emma is very proud about matchmaking. At the beginning of the novel she is proud and says that she “made the match herself”(pg 43), of Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Weston. She is so engrossed in looking for companions for other single recruits, yet doesn’t think about herself, “Mr. Elton, papa, I must look for a wife for him” (pg 44).
Now I will go on to my next section of irony. I will talk about irony within the plot. This plays a major role, because the plot is what mainly makes the novel what it is. The plot is basically the whole design of the novel. In ‘Persuasion’, the aspect of Anne and Wentworth’s frequent meeting, after they seem to not be in love with each other is ironical. It is a coincidental irony. She was involved with Wentworth seven years ago. He has come back into her life, coincidentally and suddenly. In the plot another coincidental irony is that seven years ago Lady Russell did not approve, and when he came back later she approved. Mr. Elliot’s affirmation of the need to make useful connections reflects ironically on the process in which he is now involved. At an earlier stage in his life, he considered that a link to the Elliot family was of no service to him; now he recognizes certain benefits and conscientiously integrates himself. In chapter six, the service of Richard Musgrove on a vessel commanded by Wentworth is a clear contrivance of irony of situation. Additionally at the end Anne’s marriage is entered into Sir Walter’s copy of the baronetage. This recalls the beginning of the novel, and we recognize a final seal of approval.
In Emma there is not much irony to the plot. It is mainly just ironical that Emma plays cupid but at the end she gets married to Mr. Knightley. The irony lies in the fact that she never thinks of getting married herself. She prearranged her governess Mrs. Taylor with Mr. Weston. She then tried to get her friend Harriet with Mr. Elton but did not succeed. In the process of her trying to associate Harriet with Mr. Elton, Mr. Elton fell in love with Emma. It is ironic that he loves Emma but he seems to like Harriet. This is another occurrence whereby the reader is aware of the situation yet the characters aren’t. For instance when Emma paints the portrait of Harriet, it is humorously ironic that Mr. Elton praises the painting rather than what is being painted. On this note of Emma’s marriage, she resembles Elizabeth in ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Elizabeth does not have a particular liking for Mr. Darcy but does marry him. Consequently Emma and Mr. Knightley had a relationship based on sarcasm, and wit. They were as close as a brother and sister. They never thought of ever marrying each other but they did. It is also ironical when Mr. Knightley is involved with Jane Fairfax. We do get an essence of jealousy from Emma, and this is ironical. They compete with each other to an extent, and Emma strongly thinks that Jane Fairfax is not a suitable match for Mr. Knightley. Jane Austen ironically undermines Emma’s imaginism, and furthermore Jane Austen describes Emma to be “a heroine whom no one would like but myself”. Another point is when Emma first meets Frank Churchill when she is caught in the water. The delusions that she has about him are ironical, that he is such an agreeable man and she would like to marry him.
Within ‘Pride and Prejudice’ there is quite a bit of irony within the plot, the major plot of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. They do not like each other yet they have recurrent meetings, as when Elizabeth had to go to the Bingley’s she met Mr. Darcy there. She also meets him when she goes to visit he friend Charlotte, and in Pemberly. Subsequent to this is the meeting of Elizabeth and Mr. Wickham. A person like Elizabeth actually fell in love with someone, and even when she fell in love with him she was blinded by love. Also the fact that she let her father down, as he had relied on her not to be blinded by love.
Jane Austen also illustrates irony through her own narration and her irony regarding society. The magnitude of this is that we get to see what Jane Austen is thinking. We feel her presence and her humor is evident at these points. In ‘Pride and Prejudice’, at the very beginning of the novel she says, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (pg 51). This is something that many mothers of marriageable daughters in the nineteenth century want to believe but it is not a ‘truth universally acknowledged’, for it would be as near, though no nearer to a universal truth to say ‘no single man in possession of a good fortune is in want of a wife’. For such men prefer to enjoy their money unencumbered. In chapter forty-eight, there are ironic comments about the fickleness of society, basically the change of heart over Wickham- whose character is further blackened by the stigma of gambling.
Thus, this now brings me to my conclusion of Jane Austen’s use of irony in her novels. I think that the way in which she uses irony is very effective, I admire the way that she has a wide range of irony as well as the way she puts her irony forward. It gives a good variation to her novels, and makes them much more interesting. She is a major satirist, and that makes the reader think to an extent. The way she uses irony also brings out her characters much more meticulously. I have to admit though that she can get carried away sometimes. Nevertheless I think she is so used to using irony that she at times did not even notice she was using it. (3653 words)
