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【Abstract】Pride and Prejudice， a well known novel by Jane Austen has employed ironic technique in characterization， and has proved that Jane Austen has been a wonder of the novelist and contributed a lot to literary world.
【Key words】Irony Pride and Prejudice Characterization
Virginia Woolf once confessed that “of all great writers”， she found Jane Austen “the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness” （Southan 1976：5）， a judgment that many critics would echo. As a great wonder among novel writers， Jane Austen made her success without recourse to the usual elements and allurements of popular fiction. She had the integrity to restrict herself to life as she knew it. In her world of novels， all happened in the quiet English countryside. The plots revolve around the intricacies of courtship and marriage between members of her own class---the middle class.
Jane Austen is a perfect master of irony in the literary world. She had carried on the tradition of irony of the western literature and at the mean time developed it into more mature art of irony with highly sensitive artistic experience. In her works， irony is not only presented by satirical tones and ironical remarks， but also portraying characters； it can be found not only in the arrangement of some separate scenes and plots， but also in the overall planning of the whole story. Irony is the satisfactory way by which Jane Austen gained knowledge from and made comments on human lives. Also， irony is the key-tone and the symbol of style of her novels.
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most consummate novels by the extensive use of Austen’s ironic craft. Readers are usually overwhelmed with admiration for its wit， artistic economy， polished style， good humor and unique features of the language. While in a word， it is the delicate craft of irony that makes it so wonderful a masterpiece. In the following paragraphs， Pride and Prejudice will be taken as an example to study subtly on her brilliant art in this respect.
I. Irony Used for the “Flat Characters”
Among those Jane Austen portrays， characters can be divided into two kinds： “flat” and “round”. Flat characters refer to those secondary characters who are simple and sarcastic， and who are usually directly ridiculed by the author. They can be subdivided into three types： 1. Characters absolutely lack disposition， like Mrs.Bennet； 2. Characters lack both disposition and morals， such as Mr. Collins； 3. Characters lack more morals than disposition， such as Wickham’s kind. Of these three types， the first two are the commonest in Austen’s world of novels. She often gives more teasing than sarcasm to these “flat” characters. On portraying these characters， basically Jane Austen combines the irony with realistically description. First， she “emphasized nose or eyebrows in a cartoon（Richard and Simpson）”， then she let this character show himself （or herself） on different occasions to prove her descriptions. With caricaturist exaggeration， the author uses varied ironic techniques. On this account， Mrs.Bennet is the most vivid example.Austen makes a comment on her “She was a woman of mean understanding， little information， and uncertain temper. When she was discontented she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughter married； its solace was visiting and news.（p3， Pride and Prejudice） How sarcastic the comment is. While Jane Austen does not exaggerate at all， in the previous and beginning of the story， from the conversation between Mrs. Bennet and her husband， we can know a little about her “mean understanding” and “her business of life”.we can see a narrow-minded， selfish and mean woman. Without some further knowledge of that young man， she has already regarded him as her property！ She is eager to marry any of her daughters to him just because he has four or five thousand pounds a year！ Now let’s see another scene. When Mrs. Bennet was informed by her husband that she had to receive Mr. Collins who would take over their estate from their own daughters after their death， her performance testifies what kind of person she is.
Mrs. Bennet is one of the few characters whom Jane Austen ridicules directly with ironic comments. In depicting such first type of “round” character， this method is the commonest one. While in most cases， Austen seldom gives a direct account on the character’s nature. We can only gradually learn who a person is by accompanying him （or her）， listening to him （or her） and observing his （or her） behaviors. In my opinion， Austen makes full use of this method in portraying the second type of “flat” character and here Mr. Collins deserves to be singled out for analyzing. His each word， each act and each intention implies some profound irony.
First， Jane Austen presents him to the readers by his letter to Mr. Bennet. By reading that stupid， cumbersome and affected style of letter， we sketch a man of pretentiousness， snobbishness and self-importance in front of us. Then when he presents himself in the Bennet’s family， preparing to propose to one of the daughters， whom he is obliged to deprive of their inheritance and at the same time thinking highly of his behaviors as great as “Jesus”， his mean personality is revealed to the readers completely. Austen’s description with irony of the sublime and undisturbed complacence of his arrival， of the scene when he compliments Mrs. Bennet on “having so fine a family of daughters”， and adds that he does not doubt her seeing them all in time well disposed of in marriage， is inimitable. When he receives Elizabeth’s refusal to marry him with undisturbed complacence， attributing it to “your wish of increasing my love by suspense， according to the usual practice of elegant females，” （Pinion，1973：28）， the situation rises to one of the most genuine comedy， and our only regret is that Mr. Collin’s adventures have never been adapted for the stage. While what is more interesting and attractive is that Miss Austen does not even let her victim escape her when he is married and has left the central scene. She pursues him to his home with the smile growing a little broader in her eyes. Now let’s see what happens when Elizabeth spends her holidays at Collin’s home.
We can see clearly a mean person from these few words of comments. Then his pompous assurance that “he has no hesitation in saying” that his goddess and patroness Lady Catherine， will include his cousin in her invitations ---his triumph when the party is asked to dinner---the pride with which he takes his seat at ladyship’s command， looking “as if he felt that life could furnish nothing greater”---the “delight alacrity” with which he carved and ate and praised---his game at cards with his august patroness after dinner， in which “he was employed in agreeing to everything her ladyship said， thanking her for every fish he won， and apologizing if he thought he won too much，”（Jones 1987：37）---are all so many touches which add perfection to the picture.
Jane Austen， with no pity in her heart， walks round and round him， giving here and there a skillful touch to bring out the picture. Ironic technique reaches its perfection in this characterization of Mr. Collins.
II. Irony Used for the “Round Characters”
The technique used in portraying major characters （“round” characters） is somewhat different. Generally speaking， its characteristic is： depicting those eccentricity， misconception and self-contradiction in personalities by the use of irony and at the same time composing irony by comparing the changes and development of personalities on different stages of the novel so that the development of personalities is revealed. Take Elizabeth as a typical example. Undoubtedly Elizabeth is an outstanding character with high intelligence. Her cleverness， vividness and self integrity make her superior to her sisters. Nevertheless， she can not after all escape from that “truth universally acknowledged” and takes part in the ball. There apparently she dislikes Darcy because of his arrogance， while the fact is that at the ball her pride is hurt by Darcy’s ignorance. From then on the origin of her prejudice toward Darcy has come into being. Only think about it a little thoroughly， we can find that here Miss Austen has already made use of irony to ridicule Elizabeth’s vulgarity. Then comes the complaisance of Wickham. Elizabeth was captivated by him at once and ready to accept what he said about Darcy. Here Jane Austen doesn’t even show any sympathy upon her beloved heroine. To her， no one is perfect. Every human being needs to take a long way to achieve real completeness of characteristics. Elizabeth， with deep-rooted prejudice toward Darcy， seek each possible chance to attack Darcy， which in fact shows off her own narrow mindedness， pride and prejudice. Elizabeth revenges on Darcy’s “arrogance” toward her at the second ball. After reading their conversation， our first reaction is to clap for Elizabeth’s quick wittedness. When she says： “Mr. Darcy is all politeness，” she implies some teasing meanings. In fact she intends to ridicule on Darcy’s “grave propriety”. But on the other hand， we should feel regret for Elizabeth’s narrow mindedness. She judges persons all by her subjective learning. Her “archness” covers her “opinionatedness” and leads to her misunderstanding toward Darcy. Maybe Darcy shows off some unconscious arrogance， while hers is conscious arrogance which is more serious a weak point in a person’s personality.
When we read the dialogue between Darcy and Elizabeth， Apparently， Jane Austen seems to show us how Elizabeth ridicules Darcy on his pride. But by the time we have reached this passage in the novel we know enough of Darcy’s nature， and Elizabeth’s pride of judgment， to realize that the questions tend more to an illustration of her characteristic than of his. In this exchange Jane Austen is depending on an immediate grasp of the inherent dramatic irony， and she has carefully prepared her audience by allowing them to see more of the truth of the situation than any one character can perceive. But a first encounter with this passage does not exhaust its ironic implications， and only in retrospect---or upon second reading---do we understand its relation to the total pattern of dramatic action. The point about such complicated irony is that it depends on a full external revelation of rely more upon what they say and do more than upon the author’s comments. Jane Austen， with her genius on thought and gentle irony which controls every page of the novel， makes us feel a wonderful balance between sense and sensibility. Austen is good at the most subtle usage of irony. On portraying Elizabeth， from “prejudice” to “refusal of proposal” to “learning the truth” to “ashamedness” to “ regret” then to “affection” and at last to “awareness of love”； from the first chapter to the end of the story， Miss Austen makes irony on her without batting an eyelid. She ridicules that how difficult it is for a person with intelligence to get rid of prejudice and acquire real knowledge. On this account， irony has become a forceful means to reveal the course of development of characteristics of characters.
Conclusion
So to summarize Austen’s contributions to characterization by the use of irony， we say that she has developed the portrayal of “flat” characters by using various ironic techniques， and at he mean time， she has applied the usage to the portrayal of major characters so as to reveal their complex personalities combined with both merits and defects and its process of development. This is of a significant importance， for it has broken the “perfect positive protagonist in western fiction.”（朱琳 1987：26） By now， we have already had a subtle and comprehensive study of Jane Austen’s ironic techniques on characterization， so we can make a fairly equitable conclusion that， on this account， Jane Austen is unique. Particularly in Pride and Prejudice， she makes use of this skill to the most vivid and incisive extent. She and her novels are treasures of the literary world. She has gained importance by her dramatic insight， her dialogues and even more the evocation of experience mediated through the minds of her principle characters. To me， her most significant feat lies in her unparalleled technique of irony which she has contributed to the English literature.
References：
[1]Austen Jane， Pride and Prejudice， Beijing： Foreign Language Learning Publishing House，1991.
[2]Jones Vivien， How to Study a Jane Austen’s Novel， London： Macmillan Publishers Ltd.， 1987.
[3]Pinion F. B， A Jane Austen Companion. London： Macmillan Education Ltd.， 1973.
[4]朱琳.奥斯汀小说主体意义初探.外国文学.1987.
【Key words】Irony Pride and Prejudice Characterization
Virginia Woolf once confessed that “of all great writers”， she found Jane Austen “the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness” （Southan 1976：5）， a judgment that many critics would echo. As a great wonder among novel writers， Jane Austen made her success without recourse to the usual elements and allurements of popular fiction. She had the integrity to restrict herself to life as she knew it. In her world of novels， all happened in the quiet English countryside. The plots revolve around the intricacies of courtship and marriage between members of her own class---the middle class.
Jane Austen is a perfect master of irony in the literary world. She had carried on the tradition of irony of the western literature and at the mean time developed it into more mature art of irony with highly sensitive artistic experience. In her works， irony is not only presented by satirical tones and ironical remarks， but also portraying characters； it can be found not only in the arrangement of some separate scenes and plots， but also in the overall planning of the whole story. Irony is the satisfactory way by which Jane Austen gained knowledge from and made comments on human lives. Also， irony is the key-tone and the symbol of style of her novels.
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most consummate novels by the extensive use of Austen’s ironic craft. Readers are usually overwhelmed with admiration for its wit， artistic economy， polished style， good humor and unique features of the language. While in a word， it is the delicate craft of irony that makes it so wonderful a masterpiece. In the following paragraphs， Pride and Prejudice will be taken as an example to study subtly on her brilliant art in this respect.
I. Irony Used for the “Flat Characters”
Among those Jane Austen portrays， characters can be divided into two kinds： “flat” and “round”. Flat characters refer to those secondary characters who are simple and sarcastic， and who are usually directly ridiculed by the author. They can be subdivided into three types： 1. Characters absolutely lack disposition， like Mrs.Bennet； 2. Characters lack both disposition and morals， such as Mr. Collins； 3. Characters lack more morals than disposition， such as Wickham’s kind. Of these three types， the first two are the commonest in Austen’s world of novels. She often gives more teasing than sarcasm to these “flat” characters. On portraying these characters， basically Jane Austen combines the irony with realistically description. First， she “emphasized nose or eyebrows in a cartoon（Richard and Simpson）”， then she let this character show himself （or herself） on different occasions to prove her descriptions. With caricaturist exaggeration， the author uses varied ironic techniques. On this account， Mrs.Bennet is the most vivid example.Austen makes a comment on her “She was a woman of mean understanding， little information， and uncertain temper. When she was discontented she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughter married； its solace was visiting and news.（p3， Pride and Prejudice） How sarcastic the comment is. While Jane Austen does not exaggerate at all， in the previous and beginning of the story， from the conversation between Mrs. Bennet and her husband， we can know a little about her “mean understanding” and “her business of life”.we can see a narrow-minded， selfish and mean woman. Without some further knowledge of that young man， she has already regarded him as her property！ She is eager to marry any of her daughters to him just because he has four or five thousand pounds a year！ Now let’s see another scene. When Mrs. Bennet was informed by her husband that she had to receive Mr. Collins who would take over their estate from their own daughters after their death， her performance testifies what kind of person she is.
Mrs. Bennet is one of the few characters whom Jane Austen ridicules directly with ironic comments. In depicting such first type of “round” character， this method is the commonest one. While in most cases， Austen seldom gives a direct account on the character’s nature. We can only gradually learn who a person is by accompanying him （or her）， listening to him （or her） and observing his （or her） behaviors. In my opinion， Austen makes full use of this method in portraying the second type of “flat” character and here Mr. Collins deserves to be singled out for analyzing. His each word， each act and each intention implies some profound irony.
First， Jane Austen presents him to the readers by his letter to Mr. Bennet. By reading that stupid， cumbersome and affected style of letter， we sketch a man of pretentiousness， snobbishness and self-importance in front of us. Then when he presents himself in the Bennet’s family， preparing to propose to one of the daughters， whom he is obliged to deprive of their inheritance and at the same time thinking highly of his behaviors as great as “Jesus”， his mean personality is revealed to the readers completely. Austen’s description with irony of the sublime and undisturbed complacence of his arrival， of the scene when he compliments Mrs. Bennet on “having so fine a family of daughters”， and adds that he does not doubt her seeing them all in time well disposed of in marriage， is inimitable. When he receives Elizabeth’s refusal to marry him with undisturbed complacence， attributing it to “your wish of increasing my love by suspense， according to the usual practice of elegant females，” （Pinion，1973：28）， the situation rises to one of the most genuine comedy， and our only regret is that Mr. Collin’s adventures have never been adapted for the stage. While what is more interesting and attractive is that Miss Austen does not even let her victim escape her when he is married and has left the central scene. She pursues him to his home with the smile growing a little broader in her eyes. Now let’s see what happens when Elizabeth spends her holidays at Collin’s home.
We can see clearly a mean person from these few words of comments. Then his pompous assurance that “he has no hesitation in saying” that his goddess and patroness Lady Catherine， will include his cousin in her invitations ---his triumph when the party is asked to dinner---the pride with which he takes his seat at ladyship’s command， looking “as if he felt that life could furnish nothing greater”---the “delight alacrity” with which he carved and ate and praised---his game at cards with his august patroness after dinner， in which “he was employed in agreeing to everything her ladyship said， thanking her for every fish he won， and apologizing if he thought he won too much，”（Jones 1987：37）---are all so many touches which add perfection to the picture.
Jane Austen， with no pity in her heart， walks round and round him， giving here and there a skillful touch to bring out the picture. Ironic technique reaches its perfection in this characterization of Mr. Collins.
II. Irony Used for the “Round Characters”
The technique used in portraying major characters （“round” characters） is somewhat different. Generally speaking， its characteristic is： depicting those eccentricity， misconception and self-contradiction in personalities by the use of irony and at the same time composing irony by comparing the changes and development of personalities on different stages of the novel so that the development of personalities is revealed. Take Elizabeth as a typical example. Undoubtedly Elizabeth is an outstanding character with high intelligence. Her cleverness， vividness and self integrity make her superior to her sisters. Nevertheless， she can not after all escape from that “truth universally acknowledged” and takes part in the ball. There apparently she dislikes Darcy because of his arrogance， while the fact is that at the ball her pride is hurt by Darcy’s ignorance. From then on the origin of her prejudice toward Darcy has come into being. Only think about it a little thoroughly， we can find that here Miss Austen has already made use of irony to ridicule Elizabeth’s vulgarity. Then comes the complaisance of Wickham. Elizabeth was captivated by him at once and ready to accept what he said about Darcy. Here Jane Austen doesn’t even show any sympathy upon her beloved heroine. To her， no one is perfect. Every human being needs to take a long way to achieve real completeness of characteristics. Elizabeth， with deep-rooted prejudice toward Darcy， seek each possible chance to attack Darcy， which in fact shows off her own narrow mindedness， pride and prejudice. Elizabeth revenges on Darcy’s “arrogance” toward her at the second ball. After reading their conversation， our first reaction is to clap for Elizabeth’s quick wittedness. When she says： “Mr. Darcy is all politeness，” she implies some teasing meanings. In fact she intends to ridicule on Darcy’s “grave propriety”. But on the other hand， we should feel regret for Elizabeth’s narrow mindedness. She judges persons all by her subjective learning. Her “archness” covers her “opinionatedness” and leads to her misunderstanding toward Darcy. Maybe Darcy shows off some unconscious arrogance， while hers is conscious arrogance which is more serious a weak point in a person’s personality.
When we read the dialogue between Darcy and Elizabeth， Apparently， Jane Austen seems to show us how Elizabeth ridicules Darcy on his pride. But by the time we have reached this passage in the novel we know enough of Darcy’s nature， and Elizabeth’s pride of judgment， to realize that the questions tend more to an illustration of her characteristic than of his. In this exchange Jane Austen is depending on an immediate grasp of the inherent dramatic irony， and she has carefully prepared her audience by allowing them to see more of the truth of the situation than any one character can perceive. But a first encounter with this passage does not exhaust its ironic implications， and only in retrospect---or upon second reading---do we understand its relation to the total pattern of dramatic action. The point about such complicated irony is that it depends on a full external revelation of rely more upon what they say and do more than upon the author’s comments. Jane Austen， with her genius on thought and gentle irony which controls every page of the novel， makes us feel a wonderful balance between sense and sensibility. Austen is good at the most subtle usage of irony. On portraying Elizabeth， from “prejudice” to “refusal of proposal” to “learning the truth” to “ashamedness” to “ regret” then to “affection” and at last to “awareness of love”； from the first chapter to the end of the story， Miss Austen makes irony on her without batting an eyelid. She ridicules that how difficult it is for a person with intelligence to get rid of prejudice and acquire real knowledge. On this account， irony has become a forceful means to reveal the course of development of characteristics of characters.
Conclusion
So to summarize Austen’s contributions to characterization by the use of irony， we say that she has developed the portrayal of “flat” characters by using various ironic techniques， and at he mean time， she has applied the usage to the portrayal of major characters so as to reveal their complex personalities combined with both merits and defects and its process of development. This is of a significant importance， for it has broken the “perfect positive protagonist in western fiction.”（朱琳 1987：26） By now， we have already had a subtle and comprehensive study of Jane Austen’s ironic techniques on characterization， so we can make a fairly equitable conclusion that， on this account， Jane Austen is unique. Particularly in Pride and Prejudice， she makes use of this skill to the most vivid and incisive extent. She and her novels are treasures of the literary world. She has gained importance by her dramatic insight， her dialogues and even more the evocation of experience mediated through the minds of her principle characters. To me， her most significant feat lies in her unparalleled technique of irony which she has contributed to the English literature.
References：
[1]Austen Jane， Pride and Prejudice， Beijing： Foreign Language Learning Publishing House，1991.
[2]Jones Vivien， How to Study a Jane Austen’s Novel， London： Macmillan Publishers Ltd.， 1987.
[3]Pinion F. B， A Jane Austen Companion. London： Macmillan Education Ltd.， 1973.
[4]朱琳.奥斯汀小说主体意义初探.外国文学.1987.