Pride and Prejudice Narrative Style

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Jane Austen the author of Pride and Prejudice a novel where irony is considered the foundation for this novel. Irony, humour and the extensive use of dialogue complement each other to create an inviting novel for potential readers to lose themselves in. Irony is used to show the difference in truth and the way things may seem. Austen uses irony to create deeper emotions and laugh and characters perceptions in the novel. Humour is also used to show relationships but to guide the reader to understand social status and the interactions between status’ and how this can cause ineptness for many characters. Jane Austen introduced a novel to the nineteenth century that was produced to change the way society reacted towards novels. Pride and Prejudice was a novel created around a realistic plot emphasized by humour and irony to keep the reader interested in this entertaining and playful novel.
Humour is used in several styles throughout the novel. The majority of humour is more dramatic and reveals the instability of characters; especially Mrs Bennet. Humour develops the way Austen presents her characters. Humour allows the reader to understand how characters are feeling internally through the subtext; as well as keeping them interested in the novel. It is widely recognised that some people do not find Pride and Prejudice funny and perhaps it is because of the serious nature of many situations that are highly debated with serious themes such as pride. Pride is commonly debated and every character seems to have individual opinion on the theme.

“His pride, said Miss Lucas, ‘does not offend me so much as pride often does, because there is an excuse for it. One cannot wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune, everyth...

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...y a script in a novel.
Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is certainly a novel with serious themes but these themes are coupled with the light heartedness of every day conversation full of humour, ironic dialogue and events developed by the three different types of narration present in the novel. It is understandable some people will not understand the wit and humour in Austen’s writing yet it is only a small minority of the population that will read Pride and Prejudice. The letter that Austen wrote to her sister was definitely another case of verbal irony in the novel. Pride and Prejudice is an entertaining novel because of the realistic storyline. It is also cultural phenomenon and is evident through the adaptation that is still occurring to the novel in present day.

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. 2004. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Oxford University Press.

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