An analysis on the use of irony in Emma

Abstract

This paper introduces the analysis of irony in one of Jane Austen’s most important works, Emma. First of all, I give an account of the life and times of this English novelist who published her works during the Regency Period. This section is followed by a definition of irony since it is the literary device employed in the novel in order to criticize the society of the nineteenth century. The analysis of the irony is the next section developed. Highbury’s society, health, social classes, education and manners, entertainment, friendship and love are the main items in which the analysis is based. In this section, irony is analysed through examples related to these items that characterise the lives of the society of the time. Thereafter, the heroine’s judgement and behaviour are analysed, since it is her boredom together with her imagination and matchmaking what causes the development of the facts throughout the novel. As a conclusion, the use of irony allows us to recognise the relevance of the daily life topics for the society of the early nineteenth century.