Irony Essay
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“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that
a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
o
Sets the ironic tone from the start
·
Overall irony è
mockery of 19th C English society and admiration of money,
class, “good breeding”
o
Austen extols virtue, intelligence, integrity, judgment, kindness, etc.
in contrast to the 19th C admiration of nobility, fashion,
wit, and money
o
o
Reveals the nobility and the admired as cruel, self-centered, rude,
unrestrained, proud, ill-mannered, and weak minded
o
Pushes merit over class
·
Many good scenes to discuss the multiple ironies—use two main scenes
to focus your essay
o
Miss Bingley passage, 181
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Lady C 237
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Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth 243-245
o
Or any of the many others
I.
intro: opening line and overall irony
II.
first passage & several lines
III.
“ “
IV.
“ “
V.
second passage & several lines
VI.
“”
VII.
“”
VIII.
conclusion irony: is the discrepancy
between appearance and reality irony by juxtaposition
(22) = Austen’s writing irony revealed through character’s statements Romance genre essay At the beginning
of a romance the hero and/or heroine, despite their overall good characteristics,
suffer from hubris or from some other sort of excessive behavior. - -Darcy: too proud, too concerned with class and social connections,
too self-centered, can’t see from E’s point of view Because of this
excess, the hero and/or heroine must be educated and learn balance or
moderation (sophrosune) in order to be prepared
for right (or just) rule. This education is usually an involved, episodic
process. The process of education creates suffering. Education ultimately
occurs because of the efforts of the hero’s counterpart, the heroine,
or vice versa. =Elizabeth:
learns of mistake through Darcy: the letter, her gradual transformation,
mortified by her believing Wickham over Darcy, confirmation of Darcy’s good character
at Pemberly, realizes what she has lost, must
suffer =Darcy: when he proposed the second time, shows his educationèlots
of quotations After much suffering,
the hero and/or heroine are educated, order returns, right rule can
occur, and usually marriage occurs. Personal and poltical
disorder are resolved. Key Concepts The beautiful
is the good. =Wickham
(139-140) vs Jane vs Darcy Romances are
political: A man’s relationship with his wife mirrors a leader’s relationship with his subjects. èDarcy
as leader paradox: conflict between the appearance of right
and its proper reality, between a false and true understanding èall
of the irony hubris: excessive
pride in onself
=
Darcy (and E?) dissoi
logoi: double speech, the conflicted nature of the worldèirony sophrosune:
balance or moderation=what
E gains from D and vice versa education for right rule
=see
above a balance of the masculine
and the feminine=why
D and E are better once they learn from each other E & D conversation 38-39, 119-120 |