Use of Satire in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

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Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, published in 1813. This story follows the main character Elizabeth, as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, and marriage in the society of early 19th-century England. Satire is used in Pride and Prejudice to make fun of human vices or weaknesses. Satire can be described as a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice is held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule (Satire). It is basically used to attack the characters to bring a change about them. The use of satire is often inclusive of a need or decision of correcting or bettering the character that is on the receiving end of the satire. In general, even though satire might be humorous and may “make fun”, its purpose is not to entertain and amuse but actually to derive a reaction of contempt from the reader.
The tone of the novel is light, satirical, and vivid. Jane Austen uses different literary devices throughout Pride and Prejudice and most of them are used to create humor and various other elements that enrich the story (Arslan). Austen was a close observer of her society, and one of the features that distinguished English society at the time she was writing was the structure of social classes.
Entailment is a system of inheritance that limits the inheritance. In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, owning land boosted a family's status and income as was rational during this time. This helped to keep all of the land together and in one family (on the male side) through the generations. Usually the eldest son was to inherit the majority of an estate. In Pride and Prejudice, the Bennets only had daughters, so the entailment was went to the closest male relative. Because of this, Mrs. Benn...

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