jane austen pride and prejudice uses a combination of narrative voice and dialogue, or narration and demonstration, to effectively create the impression of a social world inhabited by a variety of characters. The novel is written in the third person, where the narrator is not an actual character in the story (as in first-person narration), but a separate entity. In pride and prejudice they are also omniscient, allowing them to enter the mind of a particular character and inform the reader of the proceedings from their perspective. This article explores some of Austen’s sophisticated narrative techniques through analysis of an excerpt (found on pages 33-34, Oxford World’s Classics edition) from the novel.
The first section of the excerpt, beginning ‘And so ended his affection’ (p. 33), is predominantly dialogue. The omniscient narrator enters a brief state of suspense as the novel’s two main characters, the protagonist Elizabeth Bennet and the aloof Mr. Darcy, step forward to tell the story in their own words. This is an important process of displaying, known as direct speech or dialogue, and is characterized by the exact representation of a character’s speech, enclosed in quotes, and read as if it were happening in real time, rather than simply being reported back. to the reader. Such a process is effective in creating a sense of intimacy between the characters and the reader, as well as eliciting a more immediate response from their dialogue, such as sympathy or judgment. For example, the reader can instantly discern the contrast of opinion between Elizabeth and Darcy, in this case, their differing views on poetry. Such disagreements between characters echo the linguistic theories of Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin, who believed that words were essentially interactive, an idea he defined as ‘dialogical’. He considered that all language is fundamentally a dialogue of conflicting voices, and the use of direct speech in prose fiction is a means of artistically orchestrating these voices.
The frequent use of dialogue in pride and prejudice raises the question of veracity. Which character should the reader believe? Taking into account the supposed veracity of the narrator can also be questioned. The veracity of Elizabeth’s dialogue is strengthened when the author does not employ a distant narrative voice to describe the protagonist’s thoughts, but focuses the proceedings through her, meaning that the reader sees the story from Elizabeth’s perspective, seeing the current environment through his eyes while understanding the story through the narrator’s voice: “the general pause that ensued made Elizabeth tremble… She wanted to talk, but couldn’t think of anything to say” (p. 33). This process serves as a means of generating empathy on the part of the reader with Elizabeth, rather than assuming a position of ironic detachment, a typical quality of Austen’s writing, and something she frequently employs with other characters, especially with the Elizabeth’s mother. , the pushy Mrs. Bennet.
Later, the narrative perspective shifts away from Elizabeth as the reader encounters the use of indirect speech, “Mrs. Bennet began to repeat her thanks to Mr. Bingley” (p.33). The difference between direct speech, such as dialogue, and indirect speech is that with direct speech, the reader is presented with the exact words used by a character, enclosed in quotation marks, while with indirect speech, they are simply told what has been said. saying. In this case, the reader is aware of the fact that Mrs. Bennet apologizes to Mr. Bingley, but remains uninformed of the woman’s exact turn of phrase.
The narrative voice then assumes an initially uncertain position. The line: “impose Mr. Bingley for having promised on his first coming to the country to give a ball at Netherfield” (p.33) is not uttered by any character in particular, nor directly, through the use of dialogue, nor indirectly. , as in the use of indirect speech. Instead, it is an example of a sophisticated narrative technique known as ‘free indirect speech’. The voice appears to be that of the narrator, although it has temporarily adopted the style and intonation of Lydia, the youngest Bennet daughter. However, the line does not focus through this character as the reader is not given Lydia’s perspective, as earlier in this paragraph where her point of view was clearly Elizabeth’s. It is also important to realize that Elizabeth’s thoughts were not conveyed through a process of free indirect speech, as it did not slip into her manner of articulation.
The witty and self-assured aspect of Lydia’s free indirect speech anticipates the concise yet detailed description of the character that begins the next paragraph. The reader learns that the younger Bennet has “high animal spirits and a kind of natural self-consistency” (p. 33), personality traits that are undeniably in keeping with the nature of indirect free expression of hers. This portrayal does not focus on any particular character, but is solely that of the narrator, who assumes a distant attitude to allow for a vaguely comic impression of Lydia. The reader is much more likely to sympathize with Elizabeth than with her younger sister because of this narrative choice.
Mr. Bingley is another character that the narrator encourages the reader to empathize with. This is dislodged in the following: “Mr. Bingley was very civil in his response” (p. 33), as well as the dialogue between him and Lydia towards the end of the excerpt. The subtle intimacy regarding the personalities of Mr. Bingley and Lydia is effectively cemented through the sections detailing their direct speech. The dialogue clearly indicates Mr. Bingley’s genuine concern for Jane, the Bennets’ eldest daughter, “But he wouldn’t like to be dancing while she’s ill” (p.34). This is contrasted with Lydia’s typically shameless persuasion, as she quickly responds by stating that she will insist that Captain Carter should also give a dance, as well as Mr. Bingley.
This excerpt is a telling example of how Austen uses a variety of sophisticated narrative and dialogical techniques to successfully convey and develop her story. The methods of both telling and showing are used effectively. The reader encounters a variety of narrative voices who, through ingenious organization, can deliver the proceedings of the story in interesting, innovative, and exciting ways.