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Get every literary device explanation for Pride and PrejudicePlus so much more...
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Verbal Irony
Explanation and Analysis—No Defect:
While staying at Netherfield to take care of a sick Jane, Elizabeth spends more time with Darcy and witnesses more of his prideful behavior firsthand. In an example of verbal irony, Elizabeth states the following to Caroline Bingley in front of Darcy:
“I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr. Darcy has no defect. He owns it himself without disguise.”
This statement is ironic because Elizabeth clearly does not believe Darcy "has no defect." She is using sarcasm to make it clear that she believes the opposite—that Darcy is overly prideful and should be willing to own up to his flaws. Darcy, recognizing her sarcasm and feeling embarrassed, responds that he does have flaws, including his temper and inability to forgive people who have hurt him.
This moment highlights the ways that Elizabeth and Darcy provoke each other, each (at this point) unwilling to let go of prejudices they have of the other. As the two of them come to develop romantic feelings for each other later in the novel and move toward marriage, these moments of biting verbal irony decrease in frequency.
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