Jane austen’s Pride and prejudice uses a combination of narrative voice and dialogue, or telling and showing, to effectively create the impression of a social world inhabited by a variety of characters. The novel is written in the third person, where the narrator is not an actual character in the story (as in first-person narration), but a separate entity. On Pride and prejudice They are also omniscient, allowing them to enter the mind of a particular character and inform the reader of the proceedings from their perspective. This article explores some of the sophisticated storytelling techniques Austen employs by analyzing an excerpt (found on pages 33-34, Oxford World’s Classics edition) from the novel.

The first section of the excerpt, which begins with “And thus his affection ended” (p. 33), is predominantly dialogue. The omniscient narrator enters a brief state of suspension when the novel’s two main characters, the protagonist Elizabeth Bennet and the distant Mr. Darcy, step forward to convey the story in their own words. This is an important process of showing, known as direct speech or dialogue, and is typified by the exact representation of a character’s speech, enclosed in quotation marks and read as if it were happening in real time, rather than simply being reported back to the reader. This process is effective in creating a sense of intimacy between the characters and the reader, as well as eliciting a more immediate response from your dialogue, such as sympathy or judgment. For example, the reader can instantly discern the contrast of opinion between Elizabeth and Darcy, in this case their different views on poetry. Such disagreements between characters echo the linguistic theories of Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin, who believed that words were essentially interactive, an idea he defined as “dialogical.” He viewed all language as fundamentally a dialogue of conflicting voices, and the use of direct speech in prose fiction is a means of artistically orchestrating these voices.

The frequent use of dialogue in Pride and prejudice raises the question of veracity. What character should the reader believe? The alleged veracity of the narrator can also be questioned. The veracity of Elizabeth’s dialogue is strengthened when the author does not use a distant narrative voice to describe the protagonist’s thoughts, but instead focuses the proceedings through her, which means that the reader sees the story from Elizabeth’s perspective, seeing the current environment through her eyes while understanding the story through the narrator’s voice: “The general pause that followed made Elizabeth tremble … She wanted to speak, but couldn’t think of anything to say” (p 33). This process serves as a means of generating empathy on the part of the reader with Elizabeth, instead of assuming a position of ironic detachment, a quality that is typical of Austen’s writing, and something that she employs frequently with other characters, especially with Elizabeth’s mother. , the authoritative Mrs. Bennet.

Later, the narrative perspective moves away from Elizabeth when the reader encounters the use of indirect speech, “Mrs. Bennet began to repeat her thanks to Mr. Bingley” (p. 33). The difference between direct speech, such as dialogue, and indirect speech, is that with the former, the reader is presented with the exact words a character uses, in quotation marks, while, as with indirect speech, simply you are told what has been said. In this case, the reader is aware of the fact that Ms. Bennet is apologizing to Mr. Bingley, but remains ignorant about the exact twist of the woman’s sentence.

The narrative voice then assumes an initially uncertain position. The phrase: “taxing Mr. Bingley for having promised on his first arrival in the country to give a dance at Netherfield” (p. 33) is not spoken by any particular character, either directly, through the use of dialogue, or indirectly . , as when using indirect speech. Instead, it is an example of a sophisticated narrative technique known as “free indirect speech.” The voice appears to be that of the narrator, although it has temporarily adopted the style and intonation of Lydia, Bennet’s youngest daughter. However, the line does not focus through this character, as the reader does not have Lydia’s perspective, as earlier in this paragraph, where the point of view was clearly Elizabeth’s. It is also important to realize that Elizabeth’s thoughts were not conveyed through an indirect free speech process, as there was no slippage in her manner of articulation.

The witty and self-confident aspect of Lydia’s free indirect speech anticipates the concise but detailed description of the character that begins the next paragraph. The reader learns that the younger Bennet has “a great animal spirit and a kind of natural self-consequence” (p. 33), personality traits that no doubt coincide with the nature of her free indirect speech. This representation is not focused through any particular character, but is solely that of the narrator, assuming a distant attitude to allow a vaguely comic impression of Lydia. The reader is much more likely to sympathize with Elizabeth over her younger sister because of this narrative choice.

Mr. Bingley is another character with whom the narrator encourages the reader to empathize. This is evidenced by the following: “Mr. Bingley was frankly courteous in his response” (p. 33), as well as in the dialogue between him and Lydia towards the end of the passage. The subtle intimacies of Mr. Bingley and Lydia’s personalities are effectively consolidated through the sections detailing their direct speech. The dialogue clearly indicates Mr. Bingley’s genuine concern for Jane, Bennet’s eldest daughter, “But I would not want to dance while she is ill” (p. 34). This is in contrast to Lydia’s typically cheeky persuasion, as she responds quickly by saying that she will insist that Captain Carter should also hit a ball just like Mr. Bingley.

This excerpt is a revealing example of how Austen uses a variety of sophisticated narrative and dialogic techniques to successfully convey and develop her story. Both storytelling and showing methods are used effectively. The reader comes across a variety of narrative voices that, through ingenious organization, can convey the proceedings of the story in an interesting, innovative, and exciting way.