Pride and prejudice: The irony in grammar.

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 It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Pride and prejudice: The irony in grammar.

Nefertari Vázquez Gómez

The opening line of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen sets a satiric tone. Satire is defined as an “artistic form […] in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, parody, caricature, or other methods, sometimes with an intent to inspire social reform¨ (Encyclopædia Britannica.) The opening line uses many devices to achieve this purpose.

Among the uses of present simple grammar, we can find two: To talk about general facts that we think are true and permanent at the present time and to talk about general facts that are always true and permanent about the world (Cambridge dictionary). However, the use of “It” as a dummy subject discards the idea that the narrator shares this belief. A ‘dummy’ or ‘empty’ subject is ‘empty’ because it is used where the real subject is somewhere else in the clause (Cambridge Dictionary). So, the narrator is not stating a belief in the way in which an affirmative sentence such as “I believe that…” would do. 

Dummy subjects are also usually followed by an adjective and the noun which it is describing, but what is interesting about this opening line is that in this case it is followed by a noun, an adverb and the verb. The adverb in the sentence is “universally” which means in a way that involves everyone (Cambridge Dictionary). Another grammar feature is the modal verb “must” which implies it is a personal opinion about what is necessary to do (Cambridge) and on the other hard the noun “want” which as a verb implies a wish, but as a noun implies a need (Cambridge Dictionary).

Moreover, the subject is an anticipatory it. We use “it” to introduce or anticipate the subject or object of a sentence, especially it is a clause (Cambridge Dictionary). In the case of the line, then we can reinterpret it in this way: That a single man in possession of a good fortune, has an internal obligation of getting married because he needs a wife is a truth which everybody believes. 

Also by the use of the word “possession” which sets the topic, marriage, in the business field since it implies the situation in which someone has or owns something (Cambridge Dictionary). As defined by the Encyclopædia: In literary works, satire can be direct or indirect, with direct satire, the narrator speaks directly to the reader. Also, it implies a derision; statements showing that you think someone or something is ridiculous or of no value (Cambridge Dictionary). In the case of the very first line implicit to this initial pronoununcement is an invitation to the reader to disagree with the narrative point of view (Mathews) conveyed  throught grammar. Not only because it appeals to the reader’s beliefs and opinions and to the popular notion about marriage and love being synonymous (Goldman).



Bibliography

Cambridge Dictionary. derision. n.d. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/derision. 29 January 2021.

—. Dummy subject. n.d. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/gramatica/gramatica-britanica/dummy-subjects . 28 January 2021.

—. It. n.d. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/gramatica/gramatica-britanica/it. 28 January 2021.

—. possesion. n.d. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/possession?q=possessions. 29 January 2021.

Cambridge dictionary. Present SImple: Uses. n.d. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/gramatica/gramatica-britanica/present-simple-i-work. 28 January 2021.

Cambridge Dictionary. universally. n.d. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/universally. 29 January 2021.

—. want. n.d. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/want. 29 January 2021.

Cambridge. Have to, must and should for obligation and advice. n.d. https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar/beginner-grammar/have-must-should-obligation-advice#:~:text=We%20use%20have%20to%20%2F%20must,I%20have%20to%20go%20now. 29 January 2021.

Encyclopædia Britannica. Satire. n.d. britannica.com/art/satire.

Goldman, Emma. Marriage and Love. Library of Alexandria, 2020. e-book.

Mathews, Peter. "An Open Invitation, or How to Read the Thic's of Austen's Pride and Prejudice." The Jane Austen Journal 29 (2007): 245-254. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Mathews3/publication/318106871_An_Open_Invitation_or_How_to_Read_the_Ethics_of_Austen's_Pride_and_Prejudice/links/5959bd100f7e9ba95e1269c7/An-Open-Invitation-or-How-to-Read-the-Ethics-of-Austens-Pride-and-Prejudi.

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