"Irony in Pride and Predjudice" A discussion of Jane Austin's use of irony as a literary tool with specific examples from chapters 53-61

One of the most ironic and significant events of Pride and Prejudice is Lady Catherine de Bourgh's impromptu and audacious drop in on The Bennet household and her ensuing conversation with Elizabeth. This situation is extremely ironic because Lady Catherine's speech ends up having exactly the opposite effect on the storyline that she had intended it to. She first takes Elizabeth completely by speaking of an ensuing marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy. "I was told …

…Elizabeth and Darcy through her very attempt in preventing. This occurrence also shows the ironic ineffectiveness of a woman of such supposedly high power. Her conversation with Elizabeth proves to be extremely important in the text, however not in the way which it was meant to be. As Elizabeth remarks with wit after her marriage, "Lady Catherine has been of infinite use, which ought to make her happy, for she loves to be of use."