Lady Russell is portrayed in a generally positive light throughout Persuasion. The narrator describes her as a close friend of the late Lady Elliot and surrogate mother to Anne. However, Lady Russell does have her shortcomings. In Chapter 2, Austen uses irony to critique Lady Russell’s bias towards those of high rank and status:
She had a value for rank and consequence, which blinded her a little to the faults of those who possessed them. Herself the widow of only a knight, she gave the dignity of a baronet all its due. Sir Walter, independent of his claims as an old acquaintance, an attentive neighbour, an obliging landlord, the husband of her very dear friend, the father of Anne and her sisters, was, as being Sir Walter, in her apprehension, entitled to a great deal of compassion and consideration under his present difficulties.
Because Lady Russell is from a lower rank than Sir Walter (as the daughter of a knight, her rank is below that of a baron), she sees him as “above” her socially. But Lady Russell’s rosy view of high-status people ironically blinds her to their moral shortcomings—she automatically assumes that they're superior in all ways to people of "low birth," and the fact that she has such "value for rank" keeps her from seeing that many high-status people are, in fact, much less admirable than lower-status people. What she can't see, then, is that Sir Walter is actually quite vain and superficial.
Austen uses irony throughout the novel to present and subtly poke fun at Sir Walter Elliot's flaws. In Chapter 3, Mr. Shepherd tries to persuade Sir Walter to let Kellynch Hall to Admiral Croft, a navy officer. In response, Sir Walter tells Mr. Shepherd why he dislikes naval men:
First, as being the means of bringing persons of obscure birth into undue distinction, and raising men to honours which their fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of; and secondly, as it cuts up a man's youth and vigour most horribly; a sailor grows old sooner than any other man. I have observed it all my life [...] I know it is the same with them all: they are all knocked about, and exposed to every climate, and every weather, till they are not fit to be seen. It is a pity they are not knocked on the head at once, before they reach Admiral Baldwin's age.
Sir Walter is prejudiced against navy officers due to their supposed “ugliness,” and he even goes as far as to suggest it is better for a sailor to die young than grow and age. The ridiculousness of this statement reveals just how vain Sir Walter is.
Eventually, Mr. Shepherd convinces Sir Walter that the Crofts are suitable tenants for Kellynch Hall. Later in Chapter 5, the Elliots pay a visit to the Crofts and, in a moment of irony, Sir Walter contradicts himself. He meets Admiral Croft and:
Declared the Admiral to be the best-looking sailor he had ever met with, and went so far as to say, that if his own man might have had the arranging of his hair, he should not be ashamed of being seen with him any where.
Once Sir Walter meets Admiral Croft, he completely contradicts his earlier statement on the extreme unattractiveness of all naval men. The complete reversal of his opinion in this regard is a good example of situational irony, since he expects all naval men to be a certain way but, upon actually visiting Admiral Croft, discovers that the man is the exact opposite of his expectations. This dynamic not only calls attention to Sir Walter's vanity and his obsession with appearances, but also suggests that he's easily swayed by superficial things like looks—something Austen lightly pokes fun of.
Austen uses irony throughout the novel to present and subtly poke fun at Sir Walter Elliot's flaws. In Chapter 3, Mr. Shepherd tries to persuade Sir Walter to let Kellynch Hall to Admiral Croft, a navy officer. In response, Sir Walter tells Mr. Shepherd why he dislikes naval men:
First, as being the means of bringing persons of obscure birth into undue distinction, and raising men to honours which their fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of; and secondly, as it cuts up a man's youth and vigour most horribly; a sailor grows old sooner than any other man. I have observed it all my life [...] I know it is the same with them all: they are all knocked about, and exposed to every climate, and every weather, till they are not fit to be seen. It is a pity they are not knocked on the head at once, before they reach Admiral Baldwin's age.
Sir Walter is prejudiced against navy officers due to their supposed “ugliness,” and he even goes as far as to suggest it is better for a sailor to die young than grow and age. The ridiculousness of this statement reveals just how vain Sir Walter is.
Eventually, Mr. Shepherd convinces Sir Walter that the Crofts are suitable tenants for Kellynch Hall. Later in Chapter 5, the Elliots pay a visit to the Crofts and, in a moment of irony, Sir Walter contradicts himself. He meets Admiral Croft and:
Declared the Admiral to be the best-looking sailor he had ever met with, and went so far as to say, that if his own man might have had the arranging of his hair, he should not be ashamed of being seen with him any where.
Once Sir Walter meets Admiral Croft, he completely contradicts his earlier statement on the extreme unattractiveness of all naval men. The complete reversal of his opinion in this regard is a good example of situational irony, since he expects all naval men to be a certain way but, upon actually visiting Admiral Croft, discovers that the man is the exact opposite of his expectations. This dynamic not only calls attention to Sir Walter's vanity and his obsession with appearances, but also suggests that he's easily swayed by superficial things like looks—something Austen lightly pokes fun of.
When Mrs. Smith reveals Mr. William Elliot's scheme to get close with the Elliots in order to claim the baronetcy in Chapter 21, an instance of situational irony occurs. This revelation is completely unexpected, as Anne and the Elliots think highly of him. In Chapter 16, the narrator praises Mr. Elliot, who, upon his return, seems like an ideal, suitable, and moral heir:
Everything united in him; good understanding, correct opinions, knowledge of the world, and a warm heart. He had strong feelings of family attachment and family honour, without pride or weakness; he lived with the liberality of a man of fortune, without display; he judged for himself in everything essential, without defying public opinion in any point of worldly decorum. He was steady, observant, moderate, candid; never run away with by spirits or by selfishness, which fancied itself strong feeling; and yet, with a sensibility to what was amiable and lovely [...].
However, despite these appearances, his true nature is much more selfish and nefarious. Mrs. Smith explains to Anne in Chapter 21, after hearing of the history of her involvement with Mr. Willam Elliot, that he is:
A man without heart or conscience; a designing, wary, cold-blooded being, who thinks only of himself; whom for his own interest or ease, would be guilty of any cruelty, or any treachery, that could be perpetrated without risk of his general character. He has no feeling for others. Those whom he has been the chief cause of leading into ruin, he can neglect and desert without the smallest compunction. He is totally beyond the reach of any sentiment of justice or compassion. Oh! he is black at heart, hollow and black!
This unexpected turn of events—and the stark contradiction between appearances and reality—is an instance of situational irony. Mr. William Elliot turns out to be the very opposite of what he seems at first. Moreover, he uses appearances to persuade the rest of the Elliots that he has reunited with them out of benevolence, when really it is out of selfishness.
When Mrs. Smith reveals Mr. William Elliot's scheme to get close with the Elliots in order to claim the baronetcy in Chapter 21, an instance of situational irony occurs. This revelation is completely unexpected, as Anne and the Elliots think highly of him. In Chapter 16, the narrator praises Mr. Elliot, who, upon his return, seems like an ideal, suitable, and moral heir:
Everything united in him; good understanding, correct opinions, knowledge of the world, and a warm heart. He had strong feelings of family attachment and family honour, without pride or weakness; he lived with the liberality of a man of fortune, without display; he judged for himself in everything essential, without defying public opinion in any point of worldly decorum. He was steady, observant, moderate, candid; never run away with by spirits or by selfishness, which fancied itself strong feeling; and yet, with a sensibility to what was amiable and lovely [...].
However, despite these appearances, his true nature is much more selfish and nefarious. Mrs. Smith explains to Anne in Chapter 21, after hearing of the history of her involvement with Mr. Willam Elliot, that he is:
A man without heart or conscience; a designing, wary, cold-blooded being, who thinks only of himself; whom for his own interest or ease, would be guilty of any cruelty, or any treachery, that could be perpetrated without risk of his general character. He has no feeling for others. Those whom he has been the chief cause of leading into ruin, he can neglect and desert without the smallest compunction. He is totally beyond the reach of any sentiment of justice or compassion. Oh! he is black at heart, hollow and black!
This unexpected turn of events—and the stark contradiction between appearances and reality—is an instance of situational irony. Mr. William Elliot turns out to be the very opposite of what he seems at first. Moreover, he uses appearances to persuade the rest of the Elliots that he has reunited with them out of benevolence, when really it is out of selfishness.
Eight years before the events of the novel take place, Lady Russell advises Anne against marrying Captain Frederick Wentworth, who has neither fortune nor rank. In a moment of situational irony that is revealed in Chapter 24, though, he turns out to be the most suitable match and heir to the baronetcy after all:
Captain Wentworth, with five-and-twenty thousand pounds, and as high in his profession as merit and activity could place him, was no longer nobody. He was now esteemed quite worthy to address the daughter of a foolish, spendthrift baronet, who had not had principle or sense enough to maintain himself in the situation in which Providence had placed him, and who could give his daughter at present but a small part of the share of ten thousand pounds which must be hers hereafter.
Sir Walter Elliot's prejudice against Navy officers is proven to be incorrect and baseless. In a twist of fate, it is Frederick Wentworth, a captain, who marries Anne Elliot and therefore continues the aristocracy. This unexpected turn in events is an instance of situational irony. Austen does this to point out the idiocy and pretension of Sir Walter Elliot's judgements about others and provide a moral critique of those who are like him.
