Character Analysis of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth

Chapter 5 Data Analysis (Total 81 PERs)
Chapter 5 provides the data analysis of ironical performative speech acts through
echoic groupings to show character construction of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The
analysis attests to our argument that the 81 ironical performative speech acts depict
characterization through phases of echoic grouping dominance. The three echoic
groupings have been designated into three phases according to the novel’s plot through
the echoic grouping dominance: disagreement, neutral, and agreement (see Figure 5.1 for
echoic grouping dominance phases).
The first section of this chapter will describe the evidence for determining the echoic
grouping dominance phases. Echoic grouping dominance phases provide a way to
illustrate the characterization of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth according to their echoic
allusions. All ironical performative speech acts between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are
analyzed, in addition to other adjacent utterances to elucidate the characterization of Mr.
Darcy and Elizabeth. The data analysis is carried out according to each phase, starting
with the disagreement dominant phase of characterization, and consecutively followed by
the neutral dominant phase, and the agreement dominant phase. The analysis is structured
according to the conversational themes found in each phase, with the conversations in
order within each premise of the phase.
Each phase contains premises which include thematic dialogues, and the analysis is
conducted based upon the thematic flow of characterization. Therefore, it is necessary to
note that the themes are primarily in chronological order of the plot except for one. This
dialogue is from Chapter 10 of the novel (found in section 5.2.2.2 in the Rejection
dialogue), and is placed with the dialogue from Chapter 8 due to their similar topics
within the same premise, Opposition. The disagreement dominant phase contains four
premises, the neutral dominant phase contains three premises, and the agreement
dominant phase has two premises. Searle’s (2001b) [1979] and Austin’s (2002) [1962]
felicity conditions from speech act theory (refer to section 2.2 for felicity conditions) and
echoic allusions from echoic theory (Wilson & Sperber, 2012) (see section 2.4.2 for
echoic theory) are the foundation of the data analysis, and a combination of incongruity
theory and superiority theory (refer to section 2.4.3 for the incongruity and superiority
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theories) supports the analysis to explicate verbal irony throughout the characterization.
The analysis also offers evidence for how Elizabeth’s feminist views impact Mr. Darcy’s
moral character, proving a catalyst for their characterization.
5.1 Phases of Characterization
Pride and Prejudice is divided into three volumes by Austen, but this study
designates the plot into three echoic grouping dominance phases and disregards the
original volumes for division. From the three echoic groupings, we are able to identify
the three phases of characterization in Pride and Prejudice based on the dominant
grouping found within a particular section of the plot. The graph (Figure 5.1) on data
collection shows the 157 ironical speech acts fall in line with the disagreement, neutral
and agreement dominant phases expressed through echoic groupings of verbal irony to
show how both Mr. Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s characters have been constructed throughout
the novel. They use echoic allusions, either in a direct reference echoing each other’s
thoughts or an inexplicit echo of a societal norm; through these allusions Mr. Darcy and
Elizabeth construct each other’s and their own characters over the course of three phases:
disagreement dominant phase, neutral dominant phase, and agreement dominant phase
(refer to Figure 5.1).
Table 5.1 below provides a breakdown of the number of ironical utterances
designated as disagreement, neutral, or agreement based upon their echoic allusions
throughout each phase. This table represents how the echoic grouping dominance phases
were determined. The disagreement dominant phase clearly has a majority of
disagreement ironical utterances, and the agreement dominant phase also has only
agreement ironical utterances. The neutral dominant phase has the least prominent echoic
grouping dominance, however as explained the neutral dominant phase is neutral due to
the mixture of disagreement and apprehension between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth,
highlighting two major transitions in their characterization at the beginning and end of
the phase.
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Table 5.1 Counts by Echoic Grouping Classification and Phase
Disagreement
Utterance
Neutral
Utterance
Agreement
Utterance
Disagreement Dominant Phase 54 15 0
Neutral Dominant Phase 35 36 3
Agreement Dominant Phase 0 0 14
0
5
10
15
20
25
3 6 8 9 10 11 18 31 32 34 46 54 58 60
157VerbalIronies
Chapters
Disagreement
Neutral
Agreement
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Figure 5.1 Echoic Grouping Dominance Phases
The first phase is the disagreement dominant phase of characterization, for 54 of the
total 69 ironical utterances are disagreement utterances, where there are only 15 neutral
ironical utterances, and zero agreement ironical utterances (see Table 5.1). The second
phase is the neutral dominant phase of characterization, because of the 74 ironical
utterances, 36 are designated as neutral compared to 35 disagreement, and 3 agreement
ironical utterances (see Table 5.1). Although the transition from disagreement dominant
phase to the neutral dominant phase begins at the end of Chapter 11 of the novel, in order
for a clearer division, Chapter 18 is considered to be the beginning of the neutral
dominant phase (see Figure 5.1). The second phase is neutral due to the apprehension
between the two protagonists. The third phase, agreement dominant phase of
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characterization, is comprised solely of agreement ironical utterances as the
characterization of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth has been fully developed and the two
characters are no longer in opposition and now hold romantic sentiments for each other
(see Table 5.1). For clarification, the disagreement dominant phase occurs in the start of
the novel beginning in Chapter 1 through Chapter 17, the neutral dominant phase occurs
through Chapters 18-45, and the agreement dominant phase occurs through Chapter 46 to
the end of the novel in Chapter 61, according to the data collection (see Appendices A, B,
C). The three phases of characterization are unequal in length, reflecting the character
development within each phase.
All 81 ironical performative speech acts are analyzed through incongruity (e.g.
Norrick, 2003) and superiority theories (Morreall, 2009) based on the modified speech
act theory (see sections 2.2 and 3.1.1 for speech act theory and its modification) and
echoic theory of verbal irony (see section 2.4.2 for echoic theory) to illuminate the
ongoing character developments of both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The ironical
performative utterances between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are of great importance to the
plotline and character developments. They show the characterization stemming from
social constructions of the novel. Mr. Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s character developments are
revealed through their ironical performative speech acts, rendering performative speech
acts the most significant type for the character development according to the plot. To
illustrate the insufficiency of the other four types of speech acts for character
construction, we provide examples from the data to show their deficiency to construct
identity. While we acknowledge that these four types of speech acts may reflect a
person’s character or identity, they do not actively construct identity like performative
speech acts do.
ASR06.01 “Indeed, sir, I have not the least intention of dancing” (Austen, 2003: 27).
In this speech act, there is no direct character identity construction occurring, but
rather Elizabeth is asserting what she does not intend to do, proclaiming a truth to
describe what is already in existence, although it may still be construed as ironical. In
addition, the directional fit of an assertive speech act is words-to-world, which
describes something preexisting in the world (see section 2.2.2 for directional fit).
Therefore, an assertive cannot function to bring something into existence as a
performative.
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DIR10.06 “No, no; stay where you are” (Austen, 2003: 52). This speech act is
simply giving an order or request from the S, directing/requesting the H(s) to do
something and does not construct the character of an entity. A directive speech act
has a world-to-words directional fit, in which it proposes for some circumstance to
change in the world. However, a directive is not able to create a change in the world
when uttered and cannot directly work for character construction.
COM31.03 “You shall hear then” (Austen, 2003: 170). This commissive commits the
S to some future action, and can be taken as a threat or promise depending upon the
circumstances. The directional fit of a commissive is also world-to-words, which is
also an attempt to bring about a change into the world. Like a directive, a COM does
not have the power to simultaneously bring the circumstances into existence. Due to
the directional fit, a commissive is not adequately definitive to construct character
identity.
It is crucial to note that according to speech act theory, directives and commissives do not
necessarily construct the identity of a character, as they are meant to propose some
change upon the world according to the words’ design, although this change may never
manifest. This is opposed to performative speech acts, which bring things into existence
simultaneously when they are spoken (see section 2.2.2 for Searle’s speech act theory and
3.1.1 for performative speech acts).
EXP10.01 “Good-bye” (Austen, 2003: 52). An expressive is an utterance which
simply expresses an attitude or signifies a feeling toward something, such as in
EXP10.01 which good-bye signifies a quick dismissal and gratitude upon departure.
Unlike the other categories of speech acts, an expressive lacks directional fit. It does
not propose any change upon the world, rendering an expressive meager to support
character construction.
These examples provide the explanation of why these four types of speech acts are
inadequate and thus performative speech acts are vital to construct character and are the
main focus of this study. The frequency of ironical speech acts in Figure 5.1 illustrates the
shifts from the disagreement dominant phase at the start of the novel, to the neutral
dominant phase that begins in Chapter 18, and eventually to the agreement dominant
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phase that begins in Chapter 46, where Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are no longer at odds
with each other and the characters have been fully developed to finalize the novel.
5.2 Disagreement Dominant Phase: Society and Its Members (47
Total PERs)
The first phase of characterization for analysis is designated as the disagreement
dominant phase, which begins in Chapter 1 of the novel through Chapter 17. According
to this research, in the disagreement dominant phase disagreement saturates many of Mr.
Darcy and Elizabeth’s conversations, providing instances for character construction often
seen through their opposing views regarding societal norms. The disagreement dominant
phase is depicted with ironical utterances from Chapters 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Within the
disagreement dominant phase, there are four premises which explain the basis of the
dialogue themes, and each premise contains two thematic dialogues. This marks the
initial chapters of the novel when Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth first meet and their
interactions are mostly unpleasant, for they attack each other through the ironical
performative utterances to construct each other’s character as well as their own. The story
begins with Elizabeth being slighted by Mr. Darcy at a public ball, much to her
humiliation. She finds Mr. Darcy’s self-importance to be distasteful, and she determines
to do everything in her power to point out his flawed character. She uses a range of tactics
to expose his faults, and many of her criticisms are voiced indirectly. Although Elizabeth
has “a lively, playful disposition” (Austen, 2003: 14), her judgments of Mr. Darcy in this
phase are critical. Her opponent, Mr. Darcy, is equally adept at the use of verbal irony to
defend himself, illustrated in the analysis of their ironical conversations.
In the disagreement dominant phase, both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are forming
judgments of each other using critical irony (for an explanation of critical and friendly
irony, see section 2.3). Mr. Darcy provokes Elizabeth through his criticism of her
attributes, claiming that her appearance is insufficient for his approval to be a dance
partner. After this initial encounter, she tries to vindicate herself, therefore inspiring Mr.
Darcy to expose more of his character by his own means. Elizabeth’s instigations against
Mr. Darcy are not inaccurate as he sees no possibility of attempting to fully defend
himself against them; however Elizabeth is certain that he conceals aspects of his
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character. Try as she might to motivate him to divulge his character, Mr. Darcy does not
often take the opportunity to redress her opinions, and thus she fails to uncover his
character until the end of the novel. Up to the end of the disagreement dominant phase,
Elizabeth’s construction of Mr. Darcy’s character is a result of his responses to her
conjectures against him. Mr. Darcy identifies Elizabeth’s attempts to incite him and
displays his snide view of her finding pleasure at singling him out for ridicule. Elizabeth
exerts her moral stance on societal views over the other characters in the novel, such as
her mother and Caroline who seek material goods in marriage, but she especially seeks to
convey to Mr. Darcy that her own moral character is above his despite his higher social
station and greater wealth.
Note that in this study, the disagreement dominant phase analysis will draw attention
to many instances of verbal irony as the plot of the story makes the first phase the most
prolific for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s characterization because there are 47 ironical
performative speech acts. Therefore, in accordance with Butler’s concept of performative
speech acts as an illocutionary force there are numerous examples of character
construction (refer to section 3.1.1 for performative speech acts and characterization).
The ironical performative speech acts move in accordance with the character
development in this section (Chapters 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11), as seen in Figure 4.2. Both
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are highly critical of each other’s views of their society, using
verbal irony to echo these preconceptions of character. As we will explain in the
dialogues below, Elizabeth specifically uses ironical performative speech acts to criticize
Mr. Darcy’s fixation on social standing and express her opinion that his social views are
narrow. Mr. Darcy vehemently displays his personal judgments of disagreement with
Elizabeth and begins the discord between the two characters when he employs verbal
irony to slight Elizabeth, and thus the battle of wits is initiated.
5.2.1 Provocation: 3 PERs
5.2.1.1 Initial Meeting
In Chapter 3 of Pride and Prejudice, as seen through the echoic lens, Mr. Darcy
helps to construct Elizabeth’s character through his verbal irony. In this section, the
analysis will mainly follow a thematic task to characterize Elizabeth under Mr. Darcy’s
scrutiny, which is reflective of his own character. This section also serves to feature the
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initial character construction and the plot design surrounding those character
developments. The scene brings to the reader’s attention Elizabeth’s first encounter with
Mr. Darcy during a ball held in Meryton. In this scene, Mr. Bingley tries to convince his
friend, Mr. Darcy, to share in his mirth by provoking him to take a dance partner. Mr.
Bingley indicates Elizabeth, who is sitting within earshot of the conversation, and, as
illustrated, Mr. Darcy begins his relationship with Elizabeth in an ironical tone:
“[T]here is one of her [Jane’s] sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very
pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce
you.” (Mr. Bingley)
(DIR03.01) “Which do you mean?” and turning round he looked for a moment
at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said: (Mr.
Darcy)
(PER03.01) “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.” (Mr.
Darcy)
(Austen, 2003: 13)
The illocutionary act in DIR03.01 takes the form of a question, which serves to try and
receive information from the H. However, this utterance’s illocutionary act is
pragmatically insincere, as the S does not truthfully require the H to convey any further
information; the evidence follows in the narration where the S, after asking the question
immediately eyes the subject in query. Mr. Darcy’s utterance is an immediate echo of Mr.
Bingley’s reference to Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy is alluding to an expectation that Mr.
Bingley holds, specifically that there is a pretty young lady whom Mr. Darcy has not yet
noticed and could be taken as a dance partner. Mr. Darcy’s dissociative attitude surfaces
in this speech act—an attitude which is decidedly disinterested and disengaged, and the
initial impression of his character is imprinted on Elizabeth through his speech acts.
Mr. Darcy’s verbal and non-verbal cues, such as obtaining eye contact with
Elizabeth, show that he is aware Elizabeth could hear him. He was speaking to Mr.
Bingley, but his statement PER03.01 was aimed at Elizabeth, telling her that although she
was not an established interlocutor in the conversation, she was the ironical utterance’s
target. Thereafter, whatever he says will be construed by his intended H (Elizabeth) and
bring cause to an appropriate perlocutionary effect. The ironical dissociation goes a step
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further when Mr. Darcy, now receiving both the attention of Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth in
conversation utters PER03.01. At the same time, the S lacks authoritative judgment to
make such a claim, thus performative speech acts for this kind of identity construction
prove to be a better classification. The speech act centers on the literal proposition where
the S brings about a state upon the subject, deeming her “tolerable” and “not handsome
enough.” This act is performative because the subject is an agent who can represent
herself according to her own terms; additionally, another observer, Mr. Bingley, has
represented her more positively than Mr. Darcy’s depiction and in essence her identity is
made through those distinctions.
Mr. Darcy’s opinionated remark upon her appearance is a challenge to the H’s
expectations for uptake; he breaks from the H’s anticipations to present his dissociative
attitude of disapproval of her attributes shown through his verbal irony. According to
echoic theory, the utterance is an ironical understatement, as it agrees to some extent that
Elizabeth has qualifying features for beauty but it serves to echo that previous distinction
with an explicitly critical attitude. Thus, Mr. Darcy’s first performative speech act
imposes upon Elizabeth a bias regarding her physical features, ironically claiming that
her beauty is insufficient for him to seek her out as a dance partner. Under superiority
theory to examine Mr. Darcy, this analysis finds Mr. Darcy’s ironical performative speech
act to draw a delineating conclusion upon Elizabeth, for it is constructed not only with
pride as fault but also to implement his power as a male to authoritatively make such
productions. A woman’s opposition to such a man is obvious, as no one would desire to
be singled out in such a way without a proper reason for dissenting views. Elizabeth had
no prior introduction, and she is seated as a bystander; her unfamiliar personage would
have challenged Mr. Darcy to expand his horizons. Instead, he flees the target by
distancing himself from his so-called inferiors, and Mr. Bingley perpetuates Mr. Darcy’s
commanding stance by making no further moves to argue against his reasoning.
Mr. Darcy’s verbal irony in PER03.01 is evident through the incongruity in
figurative and literal meanings. He claims Elizabeth is “tolerable” yet he clearly displays
his own “intolerable” attitude toward her, and this juxtaposition reveals his ironical claim
regarding Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy deems himself above Mr. Bingley and “he [is] discovered
to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased” (Austen, 2003: 12). His
irony hinges on his superiority to claim that someone like Elizabeth is sufficient in beauty
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for Mr. Bingley, but certainly not enough to please his pride. Characterization begins with
this initial interaction. Mr. Darcy is voicing his negative opinion of Elizabeth, which
works to mold her character as potentially unattractive. Mr. Darcy is also giving
Elizabeth an initial understanding of the type of man he is.
Characterization is furthermore apparent in the development of Mr. Darcy’s
posturing himself as an arrogant man. He represents himself and his gender through
ironical performative speech acts, which could be construed to demean or intimidate
females. In the conversation between Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy gives a clear
example of such a performance aiming for Elizabeth to be the intended H:
(PER03.02) “I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies
who are slighted by other men.” (Mr. Darcy)
(ASR03.01) “You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you
are wasting your time with me.” (Mr. Darcy)
Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off; and Elizabeth remained
with no very cordial feelings toward him.
(Austen, 2003: 13-14)
These statements are spoken to Mr. Bingley in the presence of Elizabeth, who has just
earlier taken a position within conversational distance from Mr. Darcy. The narrative
indicates that Mr. Darcy is responding to Mr. Bingley, but for a brief moment Mr. Darcy
catches Elizabeth’s attention via eye contact (Austen, 2003: 13). With this nonverbal cue,
Elizabeth is brought into the conversation as the intended H and the object of his verbal
irony, thus eliciting this relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth as a site for the
provocation of irony to happen. In PER03.02, Mr. Darcy’s statement proves to be ironical
according to incongruity theory through the juxtaposition of reality and his statement
claiming Elizabeth is “slighted” by other men; she has not been slighted by the other men
present, but rather Elizabeth has been intentionally “slighted” by Mr. Darcy, revealing the
duality in his statement that creates verbal irony. In truth, there is a shortage of male
dance partners, and Elizabeth sat down for two dances (Austen, 2003: 13). Mr. Darcy’s
ironical utterance illustrates the pride in his character; figuratively, Mr. Darcy offended
Elizabeth, claiming that she had been slighted by other men at the ball, which is sarcastic.
As such, he is dismissing Mr. Bingley’s suggestion by deflecting the truth of the situation,
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providing the incongruity in his irony to explicate he has no interest in Elizabeth.
In ASR03.01 Mr. Darcy’s advice to tell Mr. Bingley that he could not conceivably be
convinced to dance with Elizabeth, could be interpreted ironically if one considers that
the statement was indirectly for Elizabeth to understand that you in fact means Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is within earshot, and Mr. Darcy has confirmed her attention by meeting eyes;
his statement is an allusion to the fact that he intends to refrain from social interaction
with her at this event, as he believes her to be beneath his stature. Mr. Darcy ironically
understates that Elizabeth is wasting her time if she is waiting for an invitation from him
to bring about distinction against her worthiness. The verbal irony is given away when
clearly Elizabeth is not waiting for an invitation to dance from Mr. Darcy and simply
hears the conversation, and she immediately passes judgment on Mr. Darcy’s character,
perceiving him to be an arrogant man.
In PER03.02, Mr. Darcy’s words conceal contempt he has for Elizabeth, over whom
he takes a superior social stance by drawing boundaries. Elizabeth is viewed as a
character capable of committing herself to personal representations, so Mr. Darcy’s
statement takes a derogatory color. Not only does he purport to take priority over Mr.
Bingley, by virtue of his superior wealth, but also he expands his personal importance to
encase innocent and unacquainted female bystanders. Although the ironical performative
speech acts are putting forth statements regarding Elizabeth, they simultaneously work to
build Elizabeth’s perception of Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy makes Elizabeth out to be a woman
whose social standing is beneath his own. However, the conjecture is also constructing
Mr. Darcy’s own character, from his speech acts and behavior toward Elizabeth in a
public social setting. Before the ball was over, “his character is decided. He was the
proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never
come there again” (Austen, 2003: 13). This dialogue marks the beginning of the
disagreement dominant phase, where Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are immediately on poor
terms even before an official introduction.
Elizabeth is not technically an interlocutor in the conversation, so she has no
opportunity with which to construct Mr. Darcy’s character. Mr. Darcy, however,
immediately begins to pass judgment upon Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy’s opinionated criticism
of Elizabeth constructs her identity as an inferior female from a lower social standing. At
the same time, he also portrays himself to be superior, vain and haughty by criticizing
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Elizabeth’s appearance. He breaks down any former depiction of him as a gentleman
when he first arrived (Austen, 2003: 12) and creates the image of a harsh man who is
unwilling to adhere to expected social behavior when people, especially women, of a
lower class are present.
5.2.1.2 Retaliation
In this dialogue, Elizabeth’s ironical performative speech act works to construct Mr.
Darcy’s character from their first encounter at the Meryton ball. Her ironical performative
speech act will be examined through the incongruity and superiority theories to illustrate
the echo alluding to her scrutiny of Mr. Darcy’s moral character, which reflects her own
nature. This dialogue takes place at the Bennet’s home, Longbourn. Mr. Bingley’s party
and the Lucases have gathered there to visit the Bennet family. Mr. Darcy is engaged in
conversation with Sir William Lucas when Elizabeth approaches, and Sir Lucas promptly
encourages Mr. Darcy to dance with Elizabeth. To remain polite in the presence of Sir
Lucas, Mr. Darcy also invited her to dance, but Elizabeth refuses.
(PER06.01) “Mr. Darcy is all politeness," said Elizabeth, smiling. (Elizabeth)
“He is, indeed; but, considering the inducement, my dear Miss Eliza, we cannot
wonder at his complaisance—for who would object to such a partner? (Sir
Lucas)
(Austen, 2003: 27)
In PER06.01, Elizabeth’s verbal irony is aimed at Mr. Darcy’s invitation to dance. Her
animosity toward Mr. Darcy is evident through the ironical courteous demeanor she must
express in the presence of others. Through her ironical tones intended for Mr. Darcy to
comprehend, Elizabeth conveys to him she is not beguiled by his attempt. Elizabeth,
cognizant of Mr. Darcy’s lack of sentiments of her, was determined to keep her distance
from him (Austen, 2003: 24). After the Meryton ball, Elizabeth and her family resent Mr.
Darcy for slighting Elizabeth, and they find him so unpleasant that Mrs. Bennet warns
Elizabeth to not dance with him (Austen, 2003: 21). PER06.01 echoes Elizabeth’s
perception of Mr. Darcy’s superior character as ungentlemanly. PER06.01 is an
overstatement, ironically alluding to Mr. Darcy’s polite behavior in the presence of Sir
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Lucas. Mr. Darcy’s politeness is merely for propriety, from Elizabeth’s perspective. Her
allusion to Mr. Darcy’s character in PER06.01 reflects the opinion that he exhibits
behavior for the sake of decorum. Sir Lucas’s reaction confirms he does not understand
Elizabeth’s verbal irony intended only for Mr. Darcy’s uptake. The intended meaning of
PER06.01 conveys her disbelief in Mr. Darcy’s polite manner, but Sir Lucas as the
uninitiated H does not construe the irony in her statement, illustrated in his sincere
response to the literal meaning of PER06.01, indicating Mr. Darcy was indeed polite
because he could not object to being her dance partner (Austen, 2003: 27).
In the present encounter, Mr. Darcy is exhibiting politeness toward Elizabeth,
although prior to this Mr. Darcy expressed contempt for her, disparaging her
disqualifying attributes. The incongruity in Elizabeth’s utterance PER06.01 reveals her
thoughts of Mr. Darcy, and provides the foundation for his character construction. She
believes Mr. Darcy to be of ignoble character for his conceited outlook and judgmental
forethought. The performativity of PER06.01 constructs Mr. Darcy’s character through
Elizabeth’s observations of him. Elizabeth’s assessment of Mr. Darcy is founded on his
initial behavior towards her in Meryton, where he portrayed himself above others. This
first interaction set the tone for Elizabeth’s future evaluation of Mr. Darcy, for she
believed at the onset that his ungentlemanly behavior showed a lack of moral character.
Elizabeth expresses an ironical view of Mr. Darcy. She knows that his request to
dance was not made with sincerity, and believes his opinions of her to be unfavorable.
Based on incongruity theory, the verbal irony arises from the realized opposition in her
utterance as figurative meaning is intended to convey that Mr. Darcy is not polite. Mr.
Darcy’s character construction occurs through the incongruity in Elizabeth’s ironical
statement PER06.01. Despite his first impression of Elizabeth at the Meryton ball, Mr.
Darcy becomes intrigued with Elizabeth. Elizabeth is unaware of Mr. Darcy’s growing
intrigue in her, however, and rebukes him. In her perception of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth
maintains her own morality and despises Mr. Darcy’s discriminatory nature.
Elizabeth’s moral stance is fueled by her dislike for Mr. Darcy. She admits that had
he not injured her own pride, she might have engendered a more positive assessment of
his character (Austen, 2003: 21). From the tenets of superiority theory, Elizabeth’s own
decorum, which conceals the figurative meaning of PER06.01, is an attempt to claim her
dominance over Mr. Darcy in terms of moral character. Elizabeth believes her own
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morality may influence Mr. Darcy’s haughty behavior during their encounters. Her
ironical performative speech act invocates how ill-mannered Mr. Darcy is in order to
show her disapproval of his moral standards. Her refusal to dance with Mr. Darcy at Sir
Lucas’s request is her mode of retaliation against Mr. Darcy for his initial rejection of her.
Refusal is a method for maintaining the upper hand, for through refusing his request the
power shifted from Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth as she affirmed her manifest independence.
The irony is apparent through the infelicity in her utterance, as Elizabeth believes Mr.
Darcy to be discourteous and judgmental, yet she tells Sir Lucas that he is “all
politeness,” meant to be cynical. The purpose for Elizabeth’s irony in PER06.01 is to
reveal to Mr. Darcy her perceptions of his moral character, and emphasize his deficiency
in character toward others whom he believes are inferior in social class and manners.
This dialogue is characteristic of the disagreement dominant phase of
characterization due to the continuation of negative attitudes and critical perceptions
between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. These features of the dialogue form the character
constructions of both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The power of PER06.01 as a performative
utterance constructs Mr. Darcy’s character according to Elizabeth’s opinions and moral
stance, and the incongruity inherent in verbal irony cues the readership and Mr. Darcy in
on the figurative meaning of her utterance. In addition to forming Mr. Darcy’s identity,
Elizabeth’s verbal irony works to reflect her own character as proud in resistance to Mr.
Darcy’s prejudice against her because she is a woman, making her inferior to him in
society. The first premise of the disagreement dominant phase only includes 3 ironical
performative speech acts because Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are in the initial stages of
characterization. Elizabeth does not wish to speak to Mr. Darcy, and thus there are fewer
performative speech acts between the two due to lack of conversation.
5.2.2 Opposition: 7 PERs
5.2.2.1 Gender Views
This dialogue is found within Chapter 8 of the novel, when Elizabeth is visiting
Netherfield to look after Jane, who had fallen ill. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy construct each
other’s character identity through ironical performative utterances based on their echoic
allusions of gender views. During a discussion, Mr. Bingley remarks that he is impressed
to see nearly all young ladies are accomplished. Mr. Darcy argues that many women are
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undeserving of the title “accomplished” for basic skills such as sewing do not qualify as
outstanding, because common skills do not set a woman apart from others as truly
accomplished. Elizabeth retorts, ironically ridiculing Mr. Darcy for his high expectations
of an accomplished woman.
(PER08.01) “Then,” observed Elizabeth, “you must comprehend a great deal in
your idea of an accomplished woman.” (Elizabeth)
(PER08.02) “Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it.” (Mr. Darcy)
(Austen, 2003: 39)
In PER08.01, Elizabeth’s verbal irony is an allusion to Mr. Darcy’s character, particularly
on his conceit. Mr. Darcy’s requirements for an accomplished woman are not easily
attainable, still he is determined to claim that a woman must hold all of qualities he
deems necessary. Mr. Darcy claims that he hardly knows more than “half a dozen”
women who he considers accomplished. Elizabeth’s retort in PER08.01 is a sardonic
insinuation that Mr. Darcy does not have a realistic comprehension in his understanding
of an accomplished woman. The irony is located in the disaccord between Elizabeth’s
beliefs regarding Mr. Darcy’s ideals of an accomplished woman and what is stated in her
literal utterance. On the surface, PER08.01 claims that Mr. Darcy must understand what
an accomplished woman is. Her irony, revealed in the perlocutionary act for Mr. Darcy’s
uptake, is mocking Mr. Darcy for his own determination that he holds a superior stance to
claim who can be considered accomplished. His boldness in handing down judgments on
the accomplishments of women in one sweeping assessment illustrates the proud
estimation in which he holds himself. Elizabeth is constructing Mr. Darcy’s character to
reflect her perceptions of him, as arrogant and unable to relate to those who are not of the
same social standing as he.
Superiority theory enlightens Elizabeth’s intended meaning, which is to allude that
he has a biased understanding of what it means to be an accomplished woman. Due to his
higher social station, Mr. Darcy places unrealistic expectations upon all women, and
these expectations are especially inaccessible by women whose families do not possess
some amount of wealth to ensure a proper education. Mr. Darcy retorts to Elizabeth’s
criticism with a direct quotation in PER 08.02, where he wishes to emphasize his opinion,
therefore echoing a quotation of Elizabeth’s statement, claiming that he “comprehends a
15

great deal” regarding accomplished women and their standards for achievement. Mr.
Darcy intends to emphasize that he does in fact understand what qualities are necessary
for an accomplished woman by quoting Elizabeth, offering a prime example of an echo in
the analysis. His ironical performative speech act echoes a direct quotation to defy
Elizabeth by throwing her words of mockery back at her (Austen, 2003: 39). Through the
lens of superiority theory, Mr. Darcy affirms his perceived higher stance by adamantly
defending his narrow judgment of who are considered accomplished women in society.
Mr. Darcy and Caroline protest against Mr. Bingley’s assumption, claiming a woman
must attain many achievements in order to be considered accomplished, such as poetry,
language, and other fine arts (Austen, 2003: 39). Mr. Darcy adds that “to all this she must
yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive
reading” (Austen, 2003: 39). Caroline plays Mr. Darcy’s “faithful assistant” by agreeing
with his own discernment of what a woman must achieve to be considered accomplished,
and Elizabeth mocks them for their high expectations, retorting to Mr. Darcy’s argument:
(PER08.03) “I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished
women.” (Elizabeth)
(PER08.04) “I rather wonder now at your knowing any.” (Elizabeth)
(DIR08.01) “Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of
all this?” (Mr. Darcy)
(PER08.05) “I never saw such a woman. I never saw such capacity, and taste,
and application, and elegance, as you describe united.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 39)
Elizabeth’s irony in PER08.03 is meant for Mr. Darcy, echoing his prior admission to
only knowing half a dozen accomplished women to mock his biased beliefs.
Undoubtedly, she disagrees with Mr. Darcy’s high standards for female achievement,
alluding that no woman is able to meet his criteria for accomplishment. PER08.03
contains the duality when Elizabeth says to Mr. Darcy that she is no longer surprised. The
duality of the utterance reveals her verbal irony because she was not surprised at Mr.
Darcy’s standards but she declares she is “no longer surprised” to stress the incongruence
in her perlocutionary act intended for the H’s (Mr. Darcy’s) uptake. Elizabeth knows Mr.
Darcy considers himself superior to others, and that his criteria are based upon his
16

notions of societal norms for women with a higher social station. The stress of the word
“only” complements Elizabeth’s sardonic surprise, as she would rather not expect Mr.
Darcy to know accomplished women because his standards are decidedly critical, and the
vocal cues (i.e. italicized words in conversations) imply beyond the literal meaning of the
utterance, highlighting the duality. Elizabeth states she is surprised he knew as many as
six accomplished women, if any accomplished woman at all. “Only” is incongruent with
her figurative meaning hidden in her literal utterance, and thus reveals the infelicity in the
utterance.
PER08.03 and PER08.04 can be explained through Elizabeth’s ironic banter, which
conceals benevolent intentions through a critical exterior (see section 2.4.3.3 on the
banter principle). Elizabeth’s figurative meaning to Mr. Darcy in PER08.03 is that she
does not approve of Mr. Darcy’s standards of women’s achievement, and indicates that he
holds unrealistic expectations of women. “I rather wonder now at your knowing any”
carries on Elizabeth’s intentional irony by exclaiming her “surprise” that Mr. Darcy has
managed to meet any accomplished women at all. The verbal irony is an overstatement,
revealed in her figurative meaning—that she does not expect him to know any women he
can deem accomplished. The irony is an echo of Mr. Darcy’s self-imposed superiority to
others. Elizabeth’s banter through irony functions to create a sense of awareness in Mr.
Darcy of his impractical standards for women. PER08.04 ironically entails that Mr. Darcy
cannot know any women who are accomplished in all of these areas. The juxtaposition of
figurative and literal meanings reveals her allusion to the reality in the utterance.
Elizabeth is using women as scapegoats in her irony to highlight Mr. Darcy’s own
prejudiced view of societal expectations for women.
Mr. Darcy responds with DIR08.01, a question to Elizabeth’s comments PER08.03
and PER08.04. In DIR08.01, Mr. Darcy wonders at Elizabeth’s assessment of women,
incongruously echoing her “severity” in PER08.03 and PER08.04. The incongruity in Mr.
Darcy’s question lies in the fact that Elizabeth is challenging Mr. Darcy’s severe
standards for women. On the surface he asks why Elizabeth is so “severe” upon her own
sex; however he figuratively conveys that he is the severe one who rightfully places harsh
judgments on women in society, accentuating his verbal irony. His response to Elizabeth
is rhetorical irony as he affirms his stance on the education of women in spite of his
awareness of its severity. Elizabeth’s response to Mr. Darcy epitomizes her feminist
17

stance in contrast to his societal outlooks, representative of a male-dominated society.
In PER08.05, on the surface Elizabeth claims she has never met a woman who
embodies all of the qualities Mr. Darcy and Caroline have deemed obligatory. Elizabeth’s
mockery is illustrated through the incongruity of PER08.05, in words “as you describe
united” which allude to Mr. Darcy’s severe standards for women’s education, and reveal
her real attitude that his criteria are harsh. Elizabeth ironically claims to have seen no
woman who holds all of these qualities “united” to emphasize that a woman may have
these characteristics but would still be unable to live up to Mr. Darcy’s criteria. By
refuting Mr. Darcy’s criteria for accomplished women, she outrightly challenges him that
she is nowhere near what he considers an accomplished woman, showing her resolute
willfulness in character. In turn, she implies that she will not be judged by his standards.
PER08.05 is indicative of Elizabeth’s feminist position in regards to her society, and Mr.
Darcy is symbolic of society’s critical standards for women. Elizabeth’s irony is critical
of Mr. Darcy’s own principles, as his pride and prejudice hinder him from flexibility in
determining who is worthy of his praise. The incongruity in the layers of Elizabeth’s
ironical utterance lies in claiming she has never seen a woman who meets these criteria;
she is displaying that she is in fact not severe and rather compassionate, indicating Mr.
Darcy to be the severe one.
Superiority theory explains Elizabeth’s verbal irony in her three utterances
(PER08.03, PER08.04, and PER08.05) because she uses irony at the expense of women.
Similar to the Socratic Method (see section 2.4.3.3 for Socratic irony), Elizabeth
denounces women, including herself, in order to entice Mr. Darcy to reveal his own
arrogance. By denying what he claims regarding accomplished women, Elizabeth entices
Mr. Darcy to accuse her of being too severe upon women, a confession which illuminates
his own severity. Women are the object of Elizabeth’s irony, and her denigration of
women serves the purpose to illustrate the inconceivability of Mr. Darcy’s expectations
for women of his time. His criteria are discriminatory against women who are from a
lower social standing, as the opportunity to become accomplished in all areas of fine arts
may not be available to those women without substantial means. Elizabeth’s self-
deprecating irony (see section 2.5 for the functions of irony) includes herself as one of
these women who cannot be considered accomplished. Her ironical utterance serves to
voice her own opinion by placing herself lower with these other women, and she
18

undeniably reveals her irony to disapprove of how severely women are evaluated in
society. Through verbal irony, Elizabeth exposes Mr. Darcy’s haughtiness in holding
everyone to his own standards of judgment. She portrays his character to be exceedingly
proud, and insinuates that he places himself far above others for their inequalities in
wealth, education and social standing, therefore he is also prejudiced. In this dialogue,
her covert irony brings to light Mr. Darcy’s character flaws in her attempt to point out his
own faults to him.
Elizabeth disapproves of Mr. Darcy’s ideals of an accomplished woman, overstating
her surprise that he has met any women he can deem accomplished. His response is
rhetorical irony aimed at Elizabeth’s criticism of his unrealistic standards highlights his
empathy; he is beginning to be able to relate to Elizabeth’s feminist perspective on
women’s lack of education, but he purposefully refuses to express sympathy towards her
plight because of his pride. His recognition of her opposing point of view is indicative of
the small positive influence Elizabeth is beginning to exert over his moral character in the
early stages of the disagreement dominant phase.
5.2.2.2 Rejection
This dialogue takes place in Chapter 10 of the novel, and continues with Mr. Darcy
attempting to charm Elizabeth by ironically indicating that Elizabeth must “seize such an
opportunity of dancing a reel” with him (Austen, 2003: 50). Mr. Darcy’s arrogance takes
over because he believes she will not refuse him. However, Elizabeth, knowing his
character to be overconfident, retorts with more irony to challenge Mr. Darcy in public, in
the same way he humiliated her during their first encounter at the Meryton ball.
Elizabeth’s following reactions are pinpointing her feminist perspective in contrast to Mr.
Darcy’s prejudiced views of gender norms within Regency England.
(DIR10.04) “Do not you feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such an
opportunity of dancing a reel?” (Mr. Darcy)
She smiled, but made no answer. He repeated the question, with some surprise
at her silence.
(ASR10.01) “Oh!” said she, “I heard you before, but I could not immediately
19

determine what to say in reply.” (Elizabeth)
(ASR10.02) “You wanted me, I know, to say 'Yes,' that you might have the
pleasure of despising my taste,” (Elizabeth)
(PER 10.10) “but I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes, and
cheating a person of their premeditated contempt.”
(COM10.01) “I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want
to dance a reel at all.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 50)
To interpret the verbal irony in the interaction between the two characters to further
construct their identities, Elizabeth is not only stating her opinion but also developing her
character and bringing that opinion into existence concurrently. She is affirming her
feelings in parallel and her utterances are thus speech acts performing identity
construction. She is making it clear to Mr. Darcy that his comments are not worth
answering right away. PER10.10, a performative speech act exemplifies her views of Mr.
Darcy’s character and her own personality. PER10.10 illustrates a defensive maneuver by
cutting Mr. Darcy down from his high horse. Superiority theory helps the readership
comprehend Elizabeth’s PER10.10 that is built on her previous ironies that she did not
know how to reply to Mr. Darcy’s request to dance, yet she ironically states that she knew
what he wanted her to say. Therefore these ironical utterances in turn entice her supposed
superior, Mr. Darcy, to fall into her blame, according to superiority theory’s emphasis of
Socratic irony (see section 2.4.3.3 for superiority theory). She feigns that she does not
know how to reply to a dance invitation from a male figure of high social standing. She
then outrightly points out Mr. Darcy’s snide schemes with his supposed superior forefront
to “despise” anyone inferior to him.
In this dialogue, Elizabeth is specifically constructing Mr. Darcy’s character through
her ironical utterance PER10.10. Her verbal irony further imposes upon Mr. Darcy a
superior nature, by professing that she knew he expected her to accept his invitation to
dance. She also explicitly states that Mr. Darcy only wanted to dance with her to relish in
his own distaste for her company, tarnishing his self-supposed image as a gentleman. She
specifically aims her ironical criticisms at his pride—a characteristic she believes is a
fault that Mr. Darcy holds a superior belief. Elizabeth is criticizing Mr. Darcy with
20

ironical statements stressing his character flaws. PER10.10 shows that Elizabeth is also
aware of her own ironical nature when she admits she “delights in overthrowing” Mr.
Darcy’s schemes, and “cheating a person of their premeditated contempt.” Her rhetorical
irony is an overstatement, for her insinuation is shown clearly through her own character
construction that she is a witty, lighthearted and independent thinker not afraid to give her
own opinions to a male role in a higher social class.
In other words, Elizabeth is mindful in this dialogue that she is the target of Mr.
Darcy’s verbal irony ridiculing her by implying that any woman must desire to dance
with him and could not refuse him, because he always carries this conceited nature.
Through echoic account the irony can be seen specifically pertaining to their opposing
views on societal norms in the setting of the disagreement dominant phase. In PER10.10
Elizabeth is alluding to her mocking attitude towards Mr. Darcy’s invitation to dance. Her
smile is nonverbal communication in that her first reaction was a smile and no immediate
reply. Elizabeth’s smile is ironic in and of itself. She knows that Mr. Darcy wants her to
say yes, although she soon replies that she did not know how to answer him. Her brief
moment of silence was intended to have Mr. Darcy repeat his request, exercising her
perceived power over him for making him wait. Therefore, her statement is ironical in
PER10.10 because she portrays herself as hesitant while she is in truth determined in her
response.
The way Elizabeth carries out her verbal irony by claiming her independence shows
her feminist view through an echoic allusion regarding her opinion of women’s role in the
setting of Regency-era England. Elizabeth’s irony places an emphasis on gender equality
and demonstrates her alternative view of her society. Her mockery not only criticizes Mr.
Darcy’s beliefs, but proffers a perspective for him. It is evident that no woman had ever
spoken to him with such frankness as Elizabeth had, and her atypical character started to
have a profound effect upon him to eventually alter his views and improve his moral
character. The oppositional function of irony (see section 2.5 for functions of irony) is
frequently observed in Elizabeth’s ironical utterances, as her aim is to make Mr. Darcy
contemplate his ideologies from an outside perspective.
(DIR10.05) “—and now despise me if you dare.” (Elizabeth)
(PER10.11) “Indeed I do not dare.” (Mr. Darcy)
(Austen, 2003: 50)
21

Her intentional irony can be seen challenging Mr. Darcy when she continues with a
sardonic “dare” to him, implying through irony that she believes his reason for inviting
her to dance was only to provide an opportunity to despise her. The direct challenge of,
“despise me if you dare” in DIR10.05 echoes a specific thought alluding to how Mr.
Darcy despises her for her disqualifying beauty at Meryton ball when the two characters
first met (Austen, 2003: 13). DIR10.05 also echoes Elizabeth’s previous statement of
rejection to Mr. Darcy, in which she ironically claimed he was “all politeness” (Austen,
2003: 27). Her reasons for rejection are to avoid being despised by Mr. Darcy. She then
ironically dares Mr. Darcy to “despise” her after advocating her independence. In a sense,
she still invites him to continue with the proposal, at his own risk. She specifically tells
Mr. Darcy to continue if he dares, with the resolution of challenging him and ending his
proud charade. Elizabeth proves that she is not afraid to show her bold character and
confront Mr. Darcy’s views on how a woman should behave at the time in society, as well
as his views on how she should behave according to her lower social standing. She shows
her independence through rejecting his dance proposal, proving she is not bound by
societal norms. Elizabeth’s character struggle against social dictate is apparent, and Mr.
Darcy’s obstinate, proud nature is also well observed in the disagreement dominant phase
of their characterization.
Mr. Darcy’s response to Elizabeth in PER10.11 shows his conflicted attitude towards
her; he sees her as inferior, and does indeed despise her social standing and others who
are inferior to himself. However, he cannot despise her because he has become bewitched
by her, and in his thoughts he claims “were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he
should be in some danger” (Austen, 2003: 51). PER10.11 reveals Mr. Darcy’s inner
struggle going on within himself regarding his partiality for Elizabeth. Despite a desire to
dislike Elizabeth, he is unable to despise her although he is grateful for her inferiority lest
he be inclined to fall in love with her. Mr. Darcy’s irony used in PER10.11 is ironical
more so for himself than directed at Elizabeth. He is confused by his own outlook and
thus expresses his dissociative attitude towards Elizabeth’s comment in DIR10.05. He is
refuting her belief that he does despise her, revealing the irony in PER10.11 that Mr.
Darcy wanted to despise Elizabeth but found her too charming (Austen, 2003: 51).
Mr. Darcy’s character is developing, and his ideals are changing, which can be seen
22

in the dialogue’s last ironical utterance PER10.11. He replies to Elizabeth that he does not
dare to despise her; this utterance is relaying to the reader that Elizabeth has become
more appealing to him, yet he would like to continue despising her as he has before due
to her lower social standing. He has yet to relinquish his superiority complex which keeps
him from being able to consider having real feelings for Elizabeth. His thoughts reveal
that the only thing keeping him from entertaining more romantic sentiments for her is the
fact that she is inferior, a detail which Mr. Darcy cannot accept in a woman of interest.
Mr. Darcy continually constructs Elizabeth’s character by making both direct and indirect
references to her lower social standing as well as other personality traits he finds
insufficient or inferior to his own. Despite her inferior standing compared to Mr. Darcy,
he is beginning to become amused by their character developments. He is not accustomed
to a woman who boldly speaks her mind, especially to criticize him. Mr. Darcy’s
changing attitude towards Elizabeth shows that he believes her to be an exceptional
woman, one that he could love were it not for their class discrepancy. Mr. Darcy begins to
see a new Elizabeth, and the reader also sees Elizabeth through his eyes and understands
that she is having a profound effect on his rigid personality.
In this dialogue one can see how Mr. Darcy is slightly affected by Elizabeth’s
worldviews on gender roles and social class. She not only rejects him, but ridicules him
in the process by proving he cannot get the best of her. Elizabeth expected Mr. Darcy to
be displeased when she refused his invitation to dance, yet he was unaffected by her
sharpness; in fact, her behavior only worked to make him more enamored with her.
Despite Mr. Darcy’s growing admiration of Elizabeth, she remains certain that her
perception of his nature is correct and therefore her feelings for Mr. Darcy have not
changed. However, Elizabeth does not merely aim to mock Mr. Darcy with her ironical
utterances but wants him to see the error of his rationale, and most importantly his
judgmental nature. In this premise, 7 performative speech acts represent Elizabeth and
Mr. Darcy’s characterization, highlighting Elizabeth’s boldness to challenge Mr. Darcy
for his moral character.
5.2.3 Character Contrast: 16 PERs
5.2.3.1 Judgment
This dialogue, taken from Chapter 9, is set at Netherfield, when Mrs. Bennet visits
23

Jane and Elizabeth. During a conversation amongst the party, Elizabeth ridicules Mr.
Bingley’s simple character using verbal irony to provide a contrast to Mr. Darcy’s more
complex character. The interaction between Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth in Mr. Darcy’s
presence provides a prime example of character comparison through verbal irony. Mr.
Bingley claims to Elizabeth that he is determined and that whatever he does “is done in a
hurry” (Austen, 2003: 42). Elizabeth responds:
(PER09.01) “That is exactly what I should have supposed of you,” said
Elizabeth. (Elizabeth)
“You begin to comprehend me, do you?” cried he, turning towards her. (Mr.
Bingley)
(PER09.02) “Oh! yes—I understand you perfectly.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 42)
In PER09.01 and PER09.02, Elizabeth is mocking Mr. Bingley through her ironical
attack on Mr. Darcy, therefore constructing both Mr. Darcy’s and Mr. Bingley’s
characters. She considers Mr. Bingley easy to comprehend, but her irony is found in the
incongruence of her use of “you” to Mr. Bingley when she is referencing Mr. Darcy as
well. According to this analysis, Elizabeth uses Mr. Bingley as a contrast to Mr. Darcy,
and therefore her utterances which are spoken to Mr. Bingley have an intended meaning
to aim for Mr. Darcy’s uptake for character comparison. Through her ironical utterances
PER09.01 and PER09.02, Elizabeth is conveying that she can see past Mr. Darcy’s
amiable demeanor on the surface, and grasp his true character. For example when Mr.
Darcy displayed himself as a gentleman in front of Sir Lucas at Longbourn, Elizabeth
believes that Mr. Darcy’s invitation to dance with her was polite merely for the sake of
propriety in public considering his first slight against her in Meryton (Austen, 2003: 27).
Utterance PER09.01 is an allusion to Mr. Bingley’s statement that he would quickly
change his mind and follow through with determination, and reveals that she deems his
character easily comprehendible; the literal meaning of PER09.01 conceals her reference
to Mr. Darcy’s more complicated character for comparison. Elizabeth, when stating that
she understands Mr. Bingley “perfectly,” means that she does not understand Mr. Darcy
24

due to his complex character.
PER09.02 is an echoic allusion to character comparison of Mr. Darcy and Mr.
Bingley to illustrate how Mr. Bingley is simple, figuratively highlighting Mr. Darcy’s
intricate character. Elizabeth indicates her ability to understand Mr. Bingley’s motivations
in the literal meaning of PER09.02, ironically alluding to her lack of understanding Mr.
Darcy. In addition to this more immediate echo, Elizabeth also alludes to her own ideals
that she believes a person’s character to be important, and understanding characters is
considered a necessary condition for a relationship (Austen, 2003: 23). The dualities of
her figurative references to Mr. Darcy and literal mention of Mr. Bingley’s character
create the irony in both PER09.01 and PER09.02. The incongruity is to accentuate Mr.
Darcy’s intricate character, conveying that she can see through simple characters such as
Mr. Bingley but Mr. Darcy’s character is not easily understood because it is enigmatic.
Unaware that Elizabeth is figuratively referring to Mr. Darcy in her statement, Mr.
Bingley replies to the literal meaning of her utterances.
Mr. Bingley’s question in response to Elizabeth’s utterance PER09.01 reveals his
ignorance to her irony. From the lens of superiority theory, Elizabeth asserts her
intelligence through her “quickness” (Austen, 2003: 7) to ridicule others, in the present
case Mr. Bingley. According to superiority theory, she employs Socratic irony, from
Socrates’s questioning of supposed superior parties in order to entice them to reveal their
own faults. By having Mr. Bingley admit his character is simple and easily seen through,
her verbal irony escapes possible criticism by initiated H(s). Elizabeth induces Mr.
Bingley to reveal his character flaws openly through verbal irony. She mocks Mr. Bingley
to conceal her intended meaning that she does not understand Mr. Darcy’s character. Mr.
Bingley does not perceive the irony in Elizabeth’s utterance, for by being compared with
Mr. Darcy, he believes she attempted to sincerely compliment him, but claims he cannot
see it as such.
“I wish I might take this for a compliment; but to be so easily seen through I am
afraid is pitiful.” (Mr. Bingley)
(PER09.03) “That is as it happens.” (Elizabeth)
(PER09.04) “It does not follow that a deep, intricate character is more or less
estimable than such a one as yours.” (Elizabeth)
25

(Austen 2003: 42)
In PER09.03, Elizabeth consents to Mr. Bingley that he is “easily seen through” to further
mock him. However in PER09.04 she sardonically reassures Mr. Bingley that despite his
permeable character, he is not less admirable than a person with an opaque character. This
is an allusion to Mr. Darcy’s character for character comparison, revealing her opinion
regarding Mr. Darcy’s moral character, namely that it is not “estimable.” Her verbal irony
in PER09.04 is an understatement when examined through echoic theory (see section
2.4.2 on echoic theory). The incongruity lies within her understated allusion to Mr.
Darcy’s intricate character. The illocutionary act of PER09.04 is to convey her opinion
and construct Mr. Darcy’s character as “intricate.” From the H’s uptake intended by the S,
Elizabeth, the perlocution lies in the incongruity she induces through an echoic allusion.
Elizabeth’s literal meaning in PER09.04 belies the figurative meaning, which is that
while pointing out Mr. Bingley’s simple character, he is held in higher regard than Mr.
Darcy, who has a more intricate character.
In PER09.04, Elizabeth’s banter is analyzed through superiority theory to show her
irony (see section 2.4.3.3 for a discussion of the banter principle). Her critique of Mr.
Bingley’s character is not sincere, but rather meant to ironically assess Mr. Darcy’s
character. Using a parallel contrast of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, she ridicules Mr.
Bingley as the object of her irony to covertly remark on Mr. Darcy’s moral character.
Elizabeth does not find fault in Mr. Bingley other than his simple mind (Austen, 2003:
16). She figuratively states that Mr. Darcy’s character is not as admirable as Mr.
Bingley’s, although Elizabeth regards Mr. Darcy’s character as more interesting
compared to Mr. Bingley’s. Elizabeth’s mother and Mr. Bingley do not perceive her
intentional irony, and Mrs. Bennet is mortified at Elizabeth’s display of boldness for
openly commenting on Mr. Bingley’s character, of whom they are fond.
“Lizzy,” cried her mother, “remember where you are, and do not run on in the
wild manner that you are suffered to do at home.” (Mrs. Bennet)
“I did not know before,” continued Bingley immediately, “that you were a
studier of character. It must be an amusing study.” (Mr. Bingley)
26

(PER09.05) “Yes, but intricate characters are the most amusing.” (Elizabeth)
(PER09.06) “They have at least that advantage.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 42)
Mrs. Bennet’s and Mr. Bingley’s responses indicate they do not comprehend Elizabeth’s
irony. The perlocutionary act reveals the incongruity where Elizabeth is seemingly
commenting on Mr. Bingley’s character but covertly judging Mr. Darcy’s intricate
character as being advantageous. Indirectly, the illocutionary act therefore is intended to
convey Elizabeth’s assessment of Mr. Darcy’s character. In this dialogue, Elizabeth’s
irony is meant for herself and the reader, not intended for anyone other than Mr. Darcy.
Mr. Bingley appreciates Elizabeth’s keenness for studying the characters of those around
her, and remarks that it must be an interesting pastime for her. Elizabeth responds in
PER09.05 with an echoic allusion to Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy’s character comparison.
Her exceptional wisdom shows through her verbal irony to covertly pass judgment on Mr.
Bingley’s character, although it is seen as praise to others. She is not only constructing
Mr. Bingley as simple-minded but also alluding to her own wittiness inherent in her
character for the reader. In PER09.05, the incongruity explicates her allusion to Mr.
Darcy’s complex character, opposed to Mr. Bingley’s simple character; Elizabeth finds
Mr. Darcy more amusing because his character is more intricate.
PER09.06 is an extension of PER09.05, further juxtaposing Mr. Darcy and Mr.
Bingley’s characters. PER09.06 is also an echo of Elizabeth’s assessment of Mr. Darcy
and Mr. Bingley. She specifically stresses that Mr. Darcy’s only advantage is his amusing
character, a reference to her irony in PER09.04 that Mr. Bingley is not less estimable
because his character is simple. By claiming that intricate characters are “the most”
amusing, the irony is insinuating she is also an interesting, multifaceted person. She is
covertly indicating that Mr. Bingley does not have the advantage, as she sees him a
simpleton while Mr. Darcy who is complicated in nature is more intriguing to her. To
deduce, her judgments about other characters’ traits begin to reflect her own personality
at the same time. The duality of the irony in PER09.06 is realized through the
incongruities in that although Elizabeth refers to the word “they” to mean amusing
characters she is clandestinely referring to Mr. Darcy. She is referencing her opinion that
Mr. Darcy’s moral character has few merits other than his ability to provide Elizabeth
27

with amusement, shown in his wit through irony. Elizabeth’s comparison and contrast of
Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy work to form Mr. Darcy’s character as she believes Mr. Darcy
lacks a moral character in comparison with others such as herself and Mr. Bingley.
In this dialogue, although Elizabeth is constructing Mr. Darcy’s and Mr. Bingley’s
characters through verbal irony, she is more importantly contrasting them with herself to
highlight her own character as she perceives it to be. Mr. Darcy’s retort to Elizabeth
asserts that she must not find much amusement because there are not many intricate
characters for her to study whilst residing in the country (Austen, 2003: 42). He suggests
that the country folk are less diverse than people from the city. Elizabeth refutes Mr.
Darcy’s opinion with her own, claiming “people themselves alter so much, that there is
something new to be observed in them for ever” (Austen, 2003: 43). Elizabeth’s comment
on the characters of people from the country is a foreshadowing of Mr. Darcy’s and her
own character development throughout the novel, for both she and Mr. Darcy will “alter”
themselves as the plot continues.
Mrs. Bennet boasts of Jane in front of Mr. Bingley, and tells a short anecdote of how
she thought Jane came close to receiving a marriage proposal when she was only fifteen,
but after the young man wrote her a poem the brief romance was over (Austen, 2003: 44).
Elizabeth interposes her mother’s conversation with irony to ridicule her, because she is
embarrassed by her mother’s behavior in front of Mr. Bingley, his family, and Mr. Darcy
(Austen, 2003: 43). Elizabeth cuts the story short to silence her mother, sarcastically
stating, “and so ended his affection” (Austen, 2003: 44). She facetiously exclaims that
she wonders who first began using poetry as a way to deflect romance, because Mrs.
Bennet told the story in such a way that the romance ended after the man wrote Jane
“some verses” of poetry (Austen, 2003: 44). Mr. Darcy sardonically contradicts
Elizabeth, arguing he believes poetry engenders romance and love.
(DIR09.01) “I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving
away love!” (Elizabeth)
(ASR09.03) “I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love [.]” (Mr.
Darcy)
“Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes what is strong
already.” (Elizabeth)
28

(PER09.07) “But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced
that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 44)
Elizabeth’s reply in PER09.07 is witty, with irony to ridicule both Mr. Darcy and her
mother. She is echoing her mother’s assumption that her daughters can marry men whom
they do not love, and vice versa. Through her verbal irony Elizabeth confirms her
superior emotional beliefs over Mrs. Bennet’s for what constitutes a suitable match for
marriage. In this dialogue, Elizabeth displays her own character through her verbal
ironies, portraying herself as witty to the readership. Her ironical performative utterances
increase as she continues her interaction with Mr. Darcy in the company of friends and
family, thus necessitating the construction of his character through verbal irony as a stark
contrast to Mr. Bingley.
5.2.3.2 Humility and Pride
This dialogue takes place in Chapter 10, when Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are both in
the company of Mr. Bingley at Netherfield. The same setting also occurs as in the first
conversational analysis (section 5.2.3.1 for the Judgment dialogue), this section will
continue to discuss how the verbal irony of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth constructs their
characters, especially Elizabeth, including her feminist perspectives. Elizabeth’s
perception of Mr. Darcy from their first encounter is still present—she believes him
unjustifiable and cold, lacking moral character. Mr. Darcy does not hold Elizabeth in high
esteem either, as she is of a lower social class and therefore dismissible in his eyes.
This scene begins with a conversation between Mr. Bingley’s sister, Caroline, and
Mr. Darcy, where Caroline continues to fawn over Mr. Darcy, complimenting him on his
writing. Mr. Darcy appears unaffected by Caroline’s doting, when Mr. Bingley enters the
conversation telling Caroline that her compliments for Mr. Darcy are insufficient. Upon
Caroline’s criticism of Mr. Bingley’s poor writing, Mr. Bingley admits that his writing is
inadequate because he thinks quicker than he is able to write down his thoughts.
Elizabeth compliments Mr. Bingley for his modesty:
(PER10.01) “Your humility, Mr. Bingley,” said Elizabeth, “must disarm
29

reproof.” (Elizabeth)
(PER10.02) “Nothing is more deceitful,” said Mr. Darcy, “than the appearance
of humility.” (Mr. Darcy)
(PER10.03) “It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect
boast.” (Mr. Darcy)
“And which of the two do you call my little recent piece of modesty?” (Mr.
Bingley)
(Austen, 2003: 47)
In PER10.01, Elizabeth compliments Mr. Bingley. This compliment seemingly directed at
Mr. Bingley is figuratively an underhanded slight directed at Mr. Darcy, because she
believes he lacks humility. Elizabeth’s praising of Mr. Bingley in order to criticize Mr.
Darcy is an evasive ironical utterance, for by praising Mr. Bingley’s humility she
provides Mr. Darcy a perspective from which to examine his own proud character.
Elizabeth’s assessment of Mr. Bingley’s humble character presents a contrast to Mr.
Darcy’s conceit, sardonically accentuating the differences in the two men.
Elizabeth’s tactics in PER10.01 serve as an interpretation of contrasting Mr.
Bingley’s inferior characteristics with Mr. Darcy’s supposedly superior characteristics.
Elizabeth’s verbal irony works to atone for Mr. Bingley’s faults; therefore she dissociates
these remarks from illocutions of disguised praise to create a perlocutionary effect of
opposition against Caroline and Mr. Darcy’s criticisms upon Mr. Bingley. Her intended H
is Mr. Darcy alone. In this ironical utterance, PER10.01, Elizabeth is contradicting Mr.
Bingley’s account that his own writing is quite poor compared to Mr. Darcy’s, which Mr.
Bingley means to be a compliment to Mr. Darcy. In this analysis, Mr. Darcy perceives the
perlocutionary act intended for him by Elizabeth, and goes on to ironically criticize
humility as a covert way of boasting, and gives examples of Mr. Bingley’s humble
boasting.
Mr. Darcy identifies himself as the index of Elizabeth’s judgmental claims and
responds with critical irony through a dissociative attitude. His response in PER10.02
allows Austen’s intentional use of irony to become apparent for her readership, proving
that Mr. Darcy does construe Elizabeth’s ironical criticism that is directed towards him
30

and understands Elizabeth is complimenting Mr. Bingley’s humility as a guise. Elizabeth
is seemingly praising Mr. Bingley and constructing Mr. Bingley’s character to be humble.
However, her intended meaning in PER10.01 is to be critical of Mr. Darcy for his
formidable pride. Mr. Darcy’s reply in PER10.03 deflects Elizabeth’s ironical criticism
towards him; instead he criticizes Mr. Bingley as a modest braggart. In PER 10.03, Mr.
Darcy uses intentional irony to satirize humility as humble boasting, inexplicitly
ridiculing Mr. Bingley to show off his pride and superior sense. Mr. Darcy believes his
pride is superior to Mr. Bingley’s supposedly feigned humility. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy
both attempt to exert their wit in order to claim superiority over the other. Elizabeth
challenges Mr. Darcy’s criticism of Mr. Bingley with her own perspective of moral
superiority by scornfully alluding that Mr. Darcy has imposed upon Mr. Bingley a flawed
character of “rashness” and “obstinacy.”
(PER10.04) “You have only proved by this,” cried Elizabeth, “that Mr. Bingley
did not do justice to his own disposition.” (Elizabeth)
(PER10.05) “You have shown him off now much more than he did himself.”
(Elizabeth)
. . . .
(DIR10.01) “Would Mr. Darcy then consider the rashness of your original
intentions as atoned for by your obstinacy in adhering to it?” (Elizabeth)
(PER10.06) “You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call
mine, but which I have never acknowledged.” (Mr. Darcy)
“Allowing the case, however, to stand according to your representation, you
must remember, Miss Bennet, that the friend who is supposed to desire his
return to the house, and the delay of his plan, has merely desired it, asked it
without offering one argument in favour of its propriety.” (Mr. Darcy)
(Austen, 2003: 48-49)
Elizabeth cynically defends Mr. Bingley in PER10.04 and PER10.05 as a way to
admonish Mr. Darcy. She claims that in his attempt to denounce Mr. Bingley’s humble
boasting nature, Mr. Darcy has made Mr. Bingley to be loftier than Mr. Bingley tried to
make himself appear. Her defiance of Mr. Darcy continues their battle of wits, making a
31

mockery of Mr. Bingley through irony as a way to counter-thrust against each other. Mr.
Darcy and Elizabeth simultaneously assert their superiority over Mr. Bingley and over
each other. She replies directly to Mr. Bingley, while her illocutions are intended for Mr.
Darcy as the H of her irony to indicate her rebuttal is focused towards Mr. Darcy. In these
utterances, Elizabeth retorts to Mr. Darcy with her reproach of Mr. Bingley, intended to
cynically replicate how Mr. Darcy criticizes his friend Mr. Bingley.
In this part of the dialogue, Elizabeth disapproves of Mr. Darcy’s opinion of Mr.
Bingley’s willingness to change his mind at a friend’s request. PER10.06 is a portrayal of
Elizabeth’s character, claiming that she is being judgmental of Mr. Darcy and giving
opinions which he has not even expressed, according to Mr. Darcy. Through the echoic
account, PER10.06 is an echoic allusion to Elizabeth’s opinionated character, specifically
stressing the word “opinions” to convey his feeling that she has already given many
opinions regarding Mr. Bingley’s character on the surface. Mr. Darcy is rhetorical as he
quickly points out these harsh judgments about Mr. Bingley’s fickleness to be Elizabeth’s
own opinions, not his. Applying superiority theory, Mr. Darcy is placing the supposedly
superior verbal ironist Elizabeth into his trap. He does not approve of Mr. Bingley’s
fickleness in decision-making; however, he provokes Elizabeth to vocalize these
judgments of Mr. Bingley. Mr. Darcy iterates these “opinions” are not his, obviously
expecting Elizabeth to take the blame. His echoic irony expresses his dissociative attitude
towards Elizabeth’s judgment of him, constructing her character as judgmental and
opinionated.
PER10.06 takes on the evasive or distancing function of irony because Mr. Darcy
seeks to deny that he holds this perception of Mr. Bingley; while he did not directly
articulate he believes Mr. Bingley was rash and obstinate, as Elizabeth says, his previous
criticisms of Mr. Bingley indicate that he believes Mr. Bingley to make decisions without
consideration, shown through his examples. Mr. Darcy is constructing Elizabeth’s
character as presumptuous for challenging him. His sense of superiority is clearly shown
through his verbal irony, particularly because she is of a lower social class and Mr. Darcy
is not accustomed to women, women of a lower social class especially, speaking to him
in the manner which Elizabeth does. She is bold to provoke him with accusatory remarks,
covertly disguised by irony. Only Mr. Darcy was able to detect the purpose of her verbal
irony in her assessment of Mr. Bingley’s character. Both Elizabeth’s and Mr. Darcy’s wit
32

and innovative nature shown through their characterization is the primary way they
communicate with each other, reinforcing their own community through verbal irony.
Elizabeth continues her ironical attack upon Mr. Darcy’s character, although she no
longer employs Mr. Bingley as the object of her irony. She further imposes opinions upon
Mr. Darcy by emphasizing what she perceives to be egregious flaws in his character,
claiming he does not give preference to his friends.
(PER10.07) “To yield readily—easily—to the persuasion of a friend is no merit
with you.” (Elizabeth)
(PER10.08) “To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding
of either.” (Mr. Darcy)
(PER10.09) “You appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence of
friendship and affection.” (Elizabeth)
A regard for the requester would often make one readily yield to a request,
without waiting for arguments to reason one into it.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 49)
PER10.07 is identified as an ironical performative speech act and Elizabeth uses the
utterance to build up her perception of Mr. Darcy’s character. Elizabeth’s utterance
PER10.07 continues to implicitly challenge Mr. Darcy’s character as being inflexible and
harsh. She is using covert irony, challenging Mr. Darcy’s values for friendship. Using
superiority theory to interpret her irony, Elizabeth questions Mr. Darcy’s moral character
as he appears to be superior to everyone else for his much higher social station. However,
Elizabeth believes herself to be morally superior to Mr. Darcy, acting as a mentor to
provide a perspective which would allow Mr. Darcy to see himself as she has been
constructing his character—as a stoic, rigid person who hardly sees merits in friends.
PER10.07 is an overstatement cynically echoing Mr. Darcy’s proud, unfeeling character
that does not allow for the “persuasion” of a friend, which Elizabeth believes a character
flaw.
The incongruity is found within Elizabeth’s echoic allusion, which juxtaposes the
figurative and literal meanings of PER10.07. Elizabeth’s figurative meaning conveys Mr.
Darcy finds Mr. Bingley’s character flawed for his willingness to submit to the will of a
33

friend, although she literally states that Mr. Darcy would find no merit in doing this for a
friend. She is seemingly contrasting Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley’s characters through her
verbal irony. Her intended illocution in PER10.07 is to construct Mr. Darcy’s character
using an implicit performative speech act. In PER10.08, Mr. Darcy, reciprocating
Elizabeth’s irony, wryly accused Mr. Bingley of having no conviction, and acting on a
mere whim in order to contrast Mr. Bingley’s character with his own to display his
distinguished proud personality.
In PER10.08, Mr. Darcy echoes his opinion that Mr. Bingley does not have good
judgment, found in the conversation of women’s achievement where Mr. Darcy criticized
Mr. Bingley for his naïve belief that “all” young ladies were accomplished (Austen, 2003:
39). Mr. Darcy’s irony finds Mr. Bingley as the object, to point out their differences in
contrast to Elizabeth’s assessment of Mr. Darcy’s and Mr. Bingley’s characters. His
echoic allusion in PER10.08 reveals the incongruity in his utterance. He is constructing
his own character to be superior to Mr. Bingley’s, again using Mr. Bingley as the
scapegoat of his verbal irony. Both Elizabeth’s and Mr. Darcy’s irony can be explicated
according to superiority theory, as they use Mr. Bingley as the object of irony to argue
their points of view in terms of character qualities. After this comment, readers will
understand Mr. Darcy to be not only haughty but also stubborn in his vain attempt to
prove his opinion on a particular debated point. In this dialogue, his desire to be correct
and prove a point means criticizing the actions of a friend he believes to be weak.
Elizabeth, through performative speech acts shows her opinions of Mr. Darcy, and thus
exposes Mr. Darcy’s character faults.
In PER10.09, Elizabeth finalizes the dialogue by reiterating her stance regarding Mr.
Darcy’s moral character. She cynically claims Mr. Darcy “appears” to have no tolerance
for his friends to exert an influence on him. Through echoic theory, this is an ironical
overstatement. Elizabeth’s echo in PER10.09 alludes to the discrepancy in Mr. Darcy’s
comment upon Mr. Bingley’s character. Elizabeth is conveying through her figurative
meaning that Mr. Darcy does not hold his friends in high esteem so as to allow him to be
flexible. She is constructing Mr. Darcy’s character as detached and lacking empathy,
characteristics which can to be attributed to his arrogance. In this premise, Elizabeth and
Mr. Darcy continually find themselves holding conflicted opinions over different social
concerns. They each attempt to criticize the other indirectly by ridiculing Mr. Bingley to
34

affirm their opposing opinions. Specifically, a character comparison of Mr. Bingley and
Mr. Darcy aids in the construction of Mr. Darcy’s character from Elizabeth’s morally
superior perspective. The increase in number of performative speech acts in this premise
to 16 represents the ongoing characterization of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth as they are
interacting more often through verbal irony.
5.2.4 Societal Disparity: 21 PERs
5.2.4.1 Social Exclusion
At this point in the disagreement dominant phase, Elizabeth has made several
attempts to provoke Mr. Darcy with her ironical jabs of how she perceives his character,
which is based upon their first encounter at the Meryton ball. In this dialogue, Elizabeth
is found constructing Mr. Darcy’s character with her ironical utterances, but one key
difference in this performative speech act and other speech acts analyzed before is that
this utterance is not directly constructing his character by putting forth her opinion of his
nature. The relevance of the echoic irony is not only found within the dialogue itself, but
also found in what one may call a shared knowledge between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy
regarding the key differences in Caroline and Elizabeth.
This dialogue picks up in the last scene of Chapter 10, when members of the party
are enjoying a stroll at Netherfield. Caroline and Mr. Darcy are walking together, and she
begins to tease Mr. Darcy about marrying Elizabeth. Caroline became jealous of
Elizabeth while watching Mr. Darcy invite Elizabeth to dance with him. Caroline makes a
sarcastic remark about having a portrait made of Elizabeth when she and Mr. Darcy are
married, and how a painter would have difficulty in depicting her “beautiful eyes”
(Austen, 2003: 51). Mr. Darcy responds by saying the beauty of Elizabeth’s eyes would
be easy to capture, but not their lively expression, when they happen upon Elizabeth and
Mrs. Hurst also walking along the lane. This reference to Elizabeth’s beautiful eyes was
Caroline’s attempt to mock Mr. Darcy, because he stated earlier that he had “been
meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty
woman can bestow” (Austen, 2003: 27). This statement from Mr. Darcy lets the reader
know he is beginning to have affection for Elizabeth; a much different sentiment can be
seen now than in the beginning where Mr. Darcy insisted that her beauty could not
warrant his attention. At present, Mr. Darcy has become in some way intrigued by
35

Elizabeth in her refusal of his invitations to dance, however his character has not
changed. He continues to put on airs of superiority around Elizabeth to constantly remind
her of their differences, and this behavior does not go unnoticed by Elizabeth.
Caroline was concerned she had been overheard, and quickly made conversation,
stating she was unaware that Mrs. Hurst and Elizabeth had planned a walk. Mrs. Hurst
jokingly chided Caroline for neglecting to inform her of the walk with Mr. Darcy; she
then left Elizabeth’s side to join Mr. Darcy and Caroline, leaving Elizabeth alone. When
Mr. Darcy realized there was no room for Elizabeth in the lane, he suggested they move
to the avenue:
“This walk is not wide enough for our party. We had better go into the avenue.”
(Mr. Darcy)
(DIR10.06) “No, no; stay where you are.” (Elizabeth)
(PER10.12) “You are charmingly grouped, and appear to uncommon
advantage.” (Elizabeth)
(ASR10.03) “The picturesque would be spoilt by admitting a fourth.”
(Elizabeth)
(EXP10.01) “Good-bye.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 52)
Mr. Darcy’s kind gesture to include Elizabeth was rejected with her banter, ironically
portraying Mr. Darcy’s character in PER10.12. Insisting he belongs with Mr. Bingley’s
sisters due to their higher social standing, Elizabeth purposefully excludes herself from
the group and bids them farewell. PER10.12 is an ironical utterance aimed at Mr. Darcy
and Caroline, building Mr. Darcy’s character based upon an observation regarding the
pairing up of the two. Mr. Darcy pays little attention to Caroline despite her attempts to
gain his affections. It is Elizabeth whom Mr. Darcy finds fascinating. PER10.12 is an
echo which reveals Elizabeth’s real attitude toward Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley’s sisters,
for they are all of a higher social class than she. The juxtaposition of Mr. Darcy, Caroline
and Mrs. Hurst against Elizabeth on the outing is symbolic of the invisible division
between them; Elizabeth is of a lower social standing and therefore does not belong with
the other three. In PER10.12, Elizabeth’s dissociative attitude towards Mr. Darcy is
36

apparent, portraying her cynical views of Mr. Darcy attempting to include Elizabeth
where he believes she does not belong. Her ironical performative speech act is bringing
into existence the notion that the three characters (Mr. Darcy, Caroline and Mrs. Hurst)
are grouped accordingly because all three are of the same social class and therefore hold
the same qualities according to Elizabeth. Thus she is portraying them as all believing
they are superior to her, and this is why they treat her as an outsider. More precisely, she
is creating Mr. Darcy’s character in a comparison to Mrs. Hurst and Caroline, who have
excluded Elizabeth from their company and made no attempt to rectify their
offensiveness.
In the utterance PER10.12, You refers to Mr. Darcy, Caroline and Mrs. Hurst but
more specifically to Mr. Darcy and Caroline, and their connection through a shared social
class. According to Elizabeth’s perception of Mr. Darcy’s character, and reflecting back to
Mr. Darcy’s actual attitude towards Elizabeth’s inferiority, he should be paired with a
woman such as Caroline, who desperately attempts to please him. Despite Elizabeth’s
notion that Mr. Darcy and Caroline are better suited for each other and therefore the
grouping is fitting, Mr. Darcy has continually asked Elizabeth to dance instead of
Caroline. Thus, this is another allusion for the reader which can be inferred from
PER10.12, because Elizabeth is echoing her previous rejections of Mr. Darcy’s
invitations to dance. Elizabeth believes that Caroline and Mr. Darcy suit each other well
due to their similarities in character and social class, both being proud with their superior
social positions in comparison to Elizabeth. She uses verbal irony to construct Mr.
Darcy’s arrogant character and she ironically isolates herself to proclaim her self-
autonomy, challenging and ridiculing social norms. She is seemingly turning down Mr.
Darcy’s suggestion for her to walk with him, Caroline and Mrs. Hurst, but Elizabeth is
also rejecting Mr. Darcy in a larger sense.
What is more ironical in PER10.12 is the last part of the utterance, “and appear to
uncommon advantage.” These words literally express that Caroline, Mrs. Hurst and Mr.
Darcy are an excellent congregation, as the three share the qualities which Elizabeth
despises. She claims that she would spoil the matchup were she to join the other three.
Elizabeth is echoing the shared knowledge between them all that Elizabeth does not
belong with them in the larger sense, for due to their social class differences Elizabeth
will always be considered an outsider despite her presence at social gatherings.
37

Elizabeth’s dissociative attitude of social exclusion is apparent; she uses this intentional
irony as an excuse to mask her disinterest in joining the party.
Elizabeth had determined her feelings about Mr. Bingley’s sisters earlier in the story
and also perceived their own dispositions to be near that of Mr. Darcy’s. Elizabeth’s
words and thoughts alert the reader to her acknowledgement of dislike for the two sisters,
revealing her thoughts on the way they treat everyone in a “supercilious” manner, even
Jane whom they appear to have taken a liking to (Austen, 2003: 22). Elizabeth’s
characterization continues as her scorn and contempt for Mr. Darcy cannot be alleviated
by his misplaced attempt at kindness or courtesy. At present, Elizabeth remains convinced
that his request to make room for Elizabeth to join the party is merely to be polite on the
surface.
While the reader is aware that Mr. Darcy’s feelings have begun to change, to
Elizabeth he remains a man unworthy of her attention. Elizabeth’s recent snubbing of Mr.
Darcy (the refusal to dance with him twice and this present refusal to join him and Mr.
Bingley’s sisters on a walk) makes the reader aware of her autonomy and independent
way of thinking. Her fixation on discovering the true characters of people, revealing her
own willful character, is what keeps her intrigued by Mr. Darcy, in spite of her contempt
for the character she perceives him to have. It is clear to the reader that Mr. Darcy and
Elizabeth are far more alike than they would admit: both enjoy antagonizing the other and
engaging in banter through verbal irony, whether explicitly or implicitly, to discover and
construct their identities. Both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth also remain proud and refuse to
allow their feelings towards the other to be modified. Thus, Mr. Darcy remains off-put
towards Elizabeth and prejudiced because of her social status, and Elizabeth remains
scornful of Mr. Darcy because of his intimidating outlook and the airs he puts on because
of it.
5.2.4.2 Ridicule
This dialogue is found in Chapter 11, where Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are still at
Netherfield with Mr. Bingley and Caroline. This dialogue shows further characterization
of both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. More specifically, we analyze Elizabeth’s character in
contrast to Caroline’s to show Elizabeth’s feminist nature. Chapter 11 finds Caroline
again the following night attempting to attract Mr. Darcy’s attentions. As the plot
38

continues, Caroline begins fawning over Mr. Darcy to get his attention. We will analyze
how this fawning can be compared with Elizabeth’s feminist characteristics and how
Caroline uses a typical style of attracting men in Regency-era England. Elucidating these
comparisons can also help the reader view gender equality and feminist perspectives that
pertain to Elizabeth’s performative speech acts which work to construct her own
character as well as her attempt to mold Mr. Darcy’s moral character. This is where our
conversation begins, with Caroline and Elizabeth discussing whether they can find any
fault with Mr. Darcy’s character, and they temporarily team up to verbally have a go at
Mr. Darcy. Caroline always seeks to play Mr. Darcy’s favorite by pleasing him, saying
what he wants to hear. Elizabeth thus states that Mr. Darcy is not to be teased or laughed
at, advocating that his character is irreproachable due to his social class and that she is
following those social expectations to not mock him. Caroline continues her attention
seeking from Mr. Darcy; she realizes it is ineffective and changes tactics when she sees
Mr. Darcy is paying her no attention and asks Elizabeth for company and conversation,
knowing Mr. Darcy will then pay attention to Elizabeth.
“Teaze calmness of temper and presence of mind! No, no; I feel he may defy us
there. And as to laughter, we will not expose ourselves, if you please, by
attempting to laugh without a subject. Mr. Darcy may hug himself.” (Caroline)
(PER11.01) “Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!” cried Elizabeth. (Elizabeth)
(PER11.02) “That is an uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will
continue, for it would be a great loss to me to have many such acquaintance.”
(Elizabeth)
(PER 11.03) “I dearly love a laugh.” (Elizabeth)
(Austen, 2003: 56)
PER11.01 notes that the allusion to a character to demonstrate the personality and
behaviors of another is performative. As Worthen notes the performative speech act is “a
specific vision of social order” from where the identities of the characters themselves are
constructed and become existent (1998: 1097). PER11.01 can be seen through the echoic
theory of verbal irony, because Elizabeth is postulating for Mr. Darcy that he is not to be
laughed at, which echoes Mr. Darcy’s conception of social class and appropriate behavior
39

towards someone of his social standing. However, Elizabeth is being ironical as this
statement is quite infelicitous due to Elizabeth’s true feelings regarding Mr. Darcy and his
views on class etiquette. Elizabeth does not adhere to conventional social norms, but she
is caught speaking for Mr. Darcy, as he believes someone of his superior class should not
be laughed at by anyone. Elizabeth insincerely notes how she herself is complying with
the expectations of Regency-era norms. In PER11.02 she ironically states that it would be
a great loss to her to not have the acquaintance of that class. Thus, her irony echoes the
era’s notions of social class and gender stereotypes, as well as parodies this stereotype of
that social stratum by making a rail of it through mockery. The readers can take note how
they may not get the irony in the conversation due to being unaware of the gender norms
in Regency England. PER11.03 continues the thought from PER11.02, emphasizing
Elizabeth’s figurative meaning that she is glad Mr. Darcy is her acquaintance so that she
may ridicule him.
The utterance PER11.02 has different contexts for the uninitiated H (Caroline)
versus the initiated (Mr. Darcy), leading to Caroline taking a different role in the
conversation, as she is uninitiated to the verbal irony and thus lacks uptake of the
perlocutionary act of the trope intended for Mr. Darcy. Caroline also states that they
cannot laugh at Mr. Darcy’s social- and gender-based superiority. She dotes on Mr. Darcy
in an attempt to get his attention and shows her lack of independence from her societal
entrapment; she tries to win Mr. Darcy’s affections and approval whether her means are
sincere or not. Essentially, she acquiesces to males who are of Mr. Darcy’s demeanor and
social status. In contrast we can see how Elizabeth’s independence and feminist
perspectives within her character are constructed through verbal irony as she is
simultaneously contrasting herself with Caroline in her utterances PER11.01 and
PER11.02. Elizabeth acts in direct obstinacy to Caroline’s gentrified thinking; Elizabeth
is performing the act of stating that she is neither intimidated by Mr. Darcy nor the
misogynist societal corral that women were confined to at that time. PER11.02 includes a
direct echo of Elizabeth in when she grouped Mr. Darcy, Caroline and Mrs. Hurst
together as having an “uncommon advantage” to reiterate her separation from them
(Austen, 2003: 52). Not only does Elizabeth accentuate their class differences, but
establishes her moral superiority over both Caroline and Mr. Darcy in order to affirm her
dissenting societal outlook.
40

Character Analysis of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth

Character Analysis of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth

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