?It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a wife?.(pg.1) The first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and
Prejudice is perhaps the most famous opening of all English comedies concerning social
manners. It encapsulates the ambitions of the empty headed Mrs. Bennet, and her desire
to find a good match for each of her five daughters from the middle-class young men of
the family's acquaintance: ?The business of her life was to get her daughters married,
its solace was visiting and news.?(pg. 3) In this, she receives little help from her mild
and indolent spouse, who regards her aspirations with a tolerant and witty cynicism. The
main strand of this story concerns the prejudice of Elizabeth Bennet against the apparent
arrogance of her future suitor, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the blow to his pride in falling
in love with her. Though a satisfactory outcome is eventually achieved, it is set against
the social machinations of many other figures; the haughty Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the
fatuous Mr. Collins; the younger Bennet daughter, Lydia; and her lover, Wickham, with
whom she scandalously elopes. It is often pointed out that Austen's novels emphasize
characterization and romanticism, but in Pride and Prejudice the emphasis is on the
irony, values and realism of the characters as they develop throughout the story.
Jane Austen's irony is devastating in its exposure of foolishness and hypocrisy.
Self-delusion or the attempt to fool other people are usually the object of her wit.
There are various forms of exquisite irony in Pride and Prejudice, sometimes the
characters are unconsciously ironic, as when Mrs. Bennet seriously asserts that she would
never accept any entailed property, though Mr. Collins is willing to. Often Mr. Bennet
and Elizabeth serve to directly express the author's ironic opinion. When Mary Bennet is
the only daughter at home and does not have to be compared with her prettier sisters, the
author notes that: ?it was suspected by her father that she submitted to the change
without much reluctance.? (pg.189) Mr. Bennet turns his wit on himself during the crisis
with Whickham and Lydia: ?let me once in my life feel how much I have been to blame. I am
not afraid of being overpowered by the impression. It will pass away soon enough.?(pg.
230)
Elizabeth's irony is lighthearted when Jane asks when she began to love Mr. Darcy: ?It
has been coming on so gradually that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must
date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberly? (pg.163). She can be
bitterly cutting however in her remark on Darcy's role in separating Bingley and Jane:
?Mr. Darcy is uncommonly kind to Mr. Bingley, and takes a prodigious deal of care of
him.? (pg. 202)
The author also independent of any character, uses' irony in the narrative parts for some
of her sharpest judgments The Meryton Community is glad that Lydia is marrying such a
worthless man as Whickham: ?... and the good nature wishes for her well doing, which had
proceed before from all the spiteful old ladies in Meryton, lost but a little of their
spirit in this change of circumstances, because with such a husband, her misery was
certain.? (pg. 270)
Austen uses irony to provoke gentle, whimsical laughter and to make veiled, bitter
observations as well; in her hands' irony is an extremely effective device for moral
evaluation: ?She has Elizabeth say that she hopes she will never laugh at what is wise or
good.? (pg.143)
The characters on Pride and Prejudice are full of moral, social and human values. Every
character is measured against the intelligence and sensitivity which eighteen century
people called good sense, and they stand and fall by common consent of the evaluation
made by the author. The characters themselves, the sensible ones, accept this standard,
and their relationships are determined by it, Mr. Bennet cannot be happy with his wife
because he does not respect her: ?Mr. Bennet saw his wife, he was thinking about how
obstinate she was, how money made her so happy, and how hypocrite she was.?(Pg.90) For
this reason he retreats the ridiculousness of his family into sarcasm and carelessness.
Elizabeth also feels pained by her family's folly, and can not help realizing how harmful
it is to Lydia's and her own romances:? I have bad news for you ... imprudent as a
marriage between Mr. Whickham and our poor Lydia would be, we are now anxious to be
assured it has taken place in Scotland...? (pg. 262) Likewise when Charlotte Lucas
marries the idiotic Mr. Collins for purely materialistic reasons, Elizabeth knows their
friendship can never be the same; they will separate.
This stress on good sense brings characters together as well. Jane, Elizabeth, and the
Gardiners are tied to each other by affection and an alert confidence in each other's
judgment. They can rely on both the mind and the heart of the others'; this sensible and
spirited attitude is what draws Darcy to Elizabeth in the first place.
Since the quality of good sense is so important for the characters, we should know what
it specifically is. The two characteristics already mentioned, intelligence and
sensitivity, are obviously essential. A sense of responsibility also seems to be part of
it. Mrs. and Mr. Bennet are not sensible when they fail to guide their family. This
responsibility involves a consideration for the feelings of other people which silly
characters as Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Lydia Bennet conspicuously
lack.
What happens in Pride and Prejudice happens to nearly all of us, embarrassment at the
foolishness of relatives, the unsteady feelings of falling in love, and the mortify of
suddenly realizing a big mistake. The psychological realism of the novel is revealed in
the quick recognition we have of how the characters feel, there is a very convincing view
of how an intelligent, feeling person changes, the sensitiveness of how people do feel
and act; as when Elizabeth and Darcy are angry at each other and how they completely
change their minds with the passage of time.
Jane Austen's major weakness as a writer is related to her greatest strength. Her novels
are important because they demonstrate the crude vigorous power of society which is not
just of her day, but exists today, although somewhat adapted, and still exerts a powerful
influence over social life. The weapon that Jane Austen employs against its suffocating
effects is that of irony which is all the more telling for its gentle mockery. At a time
when women had no political or financial individuality, she shows how the powerless can
influence and migrate the more soul-destroying aspects of female impotence. It must be
remembered that Austen wrote solely from personal experience, and this authenticity makes
her insights perennially valid.
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