looking for a wealthy husband for their daughters So Austen says about Mrs Bennet that The business of her life was to get her daughters married This ironic tone sets the theme for the entire novel This shows how society chases wealth In Austen s society marrying a wealthy man was more important than love Verbal Irony- Mr Bennet s Speech Mr Bennet Elizabeth s father is a very ironic character He often says the opposite of what he means Thus he mocks his wife s foolishness He highlights the stupidity of others When Mrs Bennet is excited about Mr Bingley Mr Bennet says You are as handsome as any of them my dear and Mr Bingley might like you the best of the party He does not really mean this It is his way of teasing her foolish excitement His dry ironic comments bring humor This also shows how he keeps a distance from family problems Dramatic Irony- Elizabeth s Misjudgment Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something the character does not Elizabeth thinks Darcy is proud and cruel because of his manners and Wickham s lies But the readers slowly learn the truth Darcy is actually noble and kind When Elizabeth reads Darcy s letter and realizes her mistake she says Till this moment I never knew myself This moment is deeply ironic Here Elizabeth who was so confident in her judgment realizes that she herself was full of prejudice Situational Irony- Darcy s First Proposal Darcy s first proposal to Elizabeth is full of irony Though he says he loves her he also mentions her family s low status and lack of wealth At first he says You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you He also says that he loves her Despite the inferiority of her connections The irony is that he insults her even while proposing Instead of winning her heart his proud attitude makes her angry This shows how pride and social prejudice ruin relationships Satirical Irony- Social Characters Austen uses satire a form of irony to expose the foolishness of different characters Mr Collins is proud of being connected to Lady Catherine but he is actually a ridiculous man with no real wisdom Lady Catherine thinks she has great power However he ends up helping Darcy and Elizabeth s love by trying to stop it Mrs Bennet wants to marry off her daughters quickly but her loud behavior almost ruins their chances Through these characters Austen criticizes the blind respect for wealth titles and marriage Jane Austen s use of irony makes Pride and Prejudice funny smart and deep Through irony she shows the truth about people love and society It helps us understand the difference between what people say and what they really mean