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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Mary Insulting the Church:
Before the Bertrams and Crawfords know each other very well, Mary goes on a rant in front of everyone about church—“the obligation of attendance, the formality, the restraint, the length of time,” and more. This is an example of dramatic irony because readers know—but Mary does not—that Edmund (her potential love interest listening in on this conversation) is planning to become a clergyman and takes church very seriously. When Julia reveals to the group that Edmund is soon to be ordained, Mary is “aghast” and Fanny pities her, highlighting the irony of the moment:
“My dear Edmund, if you were but in orders now, you might perform the ceremony directly. How unlucky that you are not ordained.”
[…]
Miss Crawford’s countenance, as Julia spoke, might have amused a disinterested observer. She looked almost aghast under the new idea she was receiving. Fanny pitied her. “How distressed she will be at what she said just now,” passed across her mind.
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Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Jumping the Gate:
The moment near the beginning of the novel when Henry convinces Maria to jump the iron gate at Sotherton with him foreshadows the affair that they have near the end of the novel. The gate represents moral indiscretion—they jump it, after all, on Mr. Rushworth’s property, knowing full well that he is on his way back with the key. This mirrors how they will have an affair under Mr. Rushworth’s nose after he and Maria are married.
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Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Lovers' Vows:
Near the beginning of the novel, the Bertrams and Crawfords (along with Mr. Yates and Mr. Rushworth) decide to put on a play called Lovers’ Vows. This is an allusion to an actual play written in 1798 by Elizabeth Inchbald that was controversial due to themes related to sex before marriage and children born out of wedlock. Austen likely chose the play for these very reasons, knowing that her readers (at the time she was writing) would be aware of the controversy.
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Chapter 17
Explanation and Analysis—Nothing Could Subdue:
When Julia is sulking after not being chosen to play opposite Henry in their production of Lovers’ Vows, Austen uses a hyperbole to capture her despair:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She either sat in gloomy silence, wrapt in such gravity as nothing could subdue, no curiosity touch, no wit amuse; or allowing the attentions of Mr. Yates, was talking with forced gaiety to him alone, and ridiculing the acting of the others.
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