CHAPTBR INTRODUCTION - A study on irony in Janes Austen's novel Emma - Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya Repository

CHAPTBR
INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Baclqground of the StudY

Literatureis parts of man's dreamand reality that are put

of

writings. ,{ndersen(1987:310)statesthat literatureis a record in good writing
aboutwhat peoplehavethoughtandfelt from the ancientto the presentday.Man
reveals what he thinks and feels through verbal communication or through
writings. Iiometimesman inscribeshis freling in an aestheticway, like in a form
of poem.I{owe etalfl979:2) say:"Literaturemeansimaginativewritings-stories'
novels,poems,plays-whichportrayor reflect or deal with humanexistence'"
Wlnatman putsin literatureare generallyabouthimselfandhow andwhat
Accordingto Lerner(1956:5)the subjectmatterof
happensurithhis surroundings.

literature.wouldbe somethingvery general,suchas

'mal's fate', or'human life'

for literaturecandealwith everypossiblehumanactivity.Moreover,Beardsleyet
al (1956:>xiii)add: "The subjectof a litetary work may be a thing, a person:a
sceneof affairs, an event,a whole seriesofevents, Orall of the universe,time' and
etemity."
Literatureoffers somethingworthy.Literatureconveysmoral values,selfidentificat.ion,and accomplishmentas well as failure and culture in other partsof
the world. Little (1963:l) says,"It containsthe recordof the people'svalues,their
thought, rtheir problems and-in short their whole of life." Literature is

AS

can be
or experiences
for not all of events,occasions,
importantas experience

gotten.Berrdsleyet al (1956.xxxv)statethat literaturegivesinsightinto ourselves

and our lrife and help us to understandthem. They enlarge the scope of our
experiencoof humannature.Furthermore,Roberts& Jacobs(1989:2)say that
literature can help people grow into the broader cultural, philosophic, and
religious rvorld of which they are aprt. Literaturealso helpsto recognizehuman
all
dreamsand strugglesin orderto developnaturesensitivityfor the conditionof
living things.
The writer choosesliteraturebecauseit illustratesabouthumanbeingsin
feels
aestheticsways.Literaturegivesrecordsof good writings aboutwhat man
and undergoes.The writer getsadvantagesin readingliterary works becausethey
give a pictureof values,culture,and man's dreamand most of all humannature
with the s:trugglesin life. Literature givesher not only a window to seethe world
outsidebuLtalsoa mirror to seeinsight'
The advantageof readingliteraturedraws the writer's intention to put
literary study as the subject matter of her thesis-From studying a literary work,
shegetsn,ctonly the improvementin readingskill but alsothe improvementin her
whatit gives.
perceptionto understand
In literature, there are many of literary works. According to Guerin et al

(1988:1134)literary works are divided into three geffes: poetry, drama, and
prose.Ear:hof them hasvalue and beauty.Novel, one of the prosefiction forms,
captivatesthe writer to take it as the subject of her study' The writer chooses
novel sinr:eit tells its story in a way that is more like seeingday-to-daylife'
in
Kennedy(1979.231)saysthat a novel is broadly defrned a book-lengthstory

prosewhose author tries to createsensethat, while we read, we experiencenatural
life.
Novels are in the form of book for they reveal the elements like, the
characters,the actions, the setting with more detail. Guerin et al (1988:1137)
define a mvel as:
A novel is an exterrded, fictional, prose narrative that portrays characters in a
plot. The novel may str€ss adventure for its own sake or character
d.evelopment or a partisan position on some issue or a blend of these and
ofJrer emphases-

Novel is interestingbecauseit depicts picture of life's values. The
characters,the actions, and all of the elementsin novels reflect the real lifeNovels give somethingmore than story about man's activities. They give
Kettle (1976.13)explains," The goodnor'eldoesnot simply

significanl.leaming.
conveylifre;it sayssomethingaboutlife. It revealssomekind of patternin life. It
brings significance." In line with Kettle, Kennedy(1989:19)says that fine
novels,as if by turning on lights and openingwindows, help to beholdaspectsof
othersthat had not beenobservedbefore.Lerner(1956:147)explainsthat people
may love a novel becauseof two reasorls.Firs! it seemsto representthe spirit of
the socieg,wherepeoplelive. Second,it revealsa way of socialbehaviorthat has
previouslyknownlittle about.
The writer choosesnovel sinceit bringssignificancein life and it opens
her eyesto seeaspectsin life that havenot been realizedbefore.Novel is a booklength sto:rythat can give the elementsof a literary work, like characters,plots,
and settinlgmore details.The authorgrantsdifferenttraits to the charactersand
how the clifferent traits make the characters'relationshipsflow throughoutthe

story.Whitt the characters'traits and how their relationshipsin a novel becomea
geat concemforthe writer to achievethe purposeof her study.
Therearc a lot of greatnorelistsand yet in this thesisthe writer chooses
Jane Austen. Jane Austen is a great woman novelist with outstanding
Accordingto Bakker(1975:50)JaneAustenis regardedas the first
achievemernt.
womanwliter to achievea high reputationin Englishliteraturein the eighteenth

century.
Jale Austenwrote the life aroundher. Shedepictednot only the prfect
Shedescribedbroadlywhat the
nessof lifi: aroundher but alsothe imperfectness.
life aroundherjust the way it was.GeorgeHenry Lewessaysas quotedby Parish
(1972:369),"To read ons of her books is like an actualexperienceof life: you
know the people as if you have lived with them, and you feel somethingof
personalaffectiontowardsthem."
JaneAusten wrote six novels:Senseand Sensibility(1811), Pride and
(1817)'and
Prejudice(1813),MansfieldPork (1814),Emma(1816),Persuasion
by
Abbey(l8iS). The main charactersin her novelsare represented
Northange,r
handsomeones.
young ladiesand nevertheless
elegant,witty, and independence
The ideal charactersin her novels are not without shortcomings.According to
Legouis(1953.297)in the six novels.IaneAustenwrote,sheset herselfto study
the way o1'feminineaffrction, the delicaciesand distressesof young and sensitive

but not pallsionatehearts,their mistakesand their solrowsin first love.
The writer choosesone of her finest novels, Emma which presentsan
ironic fict,ion. Maugham (1991:68)says,"The greatmassof readers,I believe,

and Emmaas her peak of
d,Pride and Preiudiceas her masterpiece
haveacccpte
maturity v/ork." JaneAustenwas bold in creatingirony that resultsin comedyin
her novels.Accordingto Blamires(1984:264)JaneAustengetsthe achievement
as the pelfwt ironist to make her heroine have experiencethat makes her to
behavewithin a doublevision ofjudgernent and affection"that seeshcr laughably
silly yet nonethe lessdear.The writer is fascinatedby how JaneAustenblends
the characterswith shortcomingsand virtues, at the sametime tries to portraythe
that makehernovelsreflectthe real
life with il.sperfectnessandits imperfectness
life.
witty and smart
independent,
In Emma,JaneAustenportraysa handsome,
girl namedEmma Woodhouse.She is grantedwith almost all the best quality a

girl canhaweandyet shemakesmistakes.Sheis very keenon doingmatchmaking
of settingup a relationshipof Miss Taylor and
towardshr:rfriends.The successful
Mr. Westrrnuntil they are married brings her confidenceto do the samething
towardsFianiet Smith and Mr. Elton that endsup in her distressbecauseof her
blunder.Floweet al (19?9:5)state:
TheyreadJaneAusten,sEmma"fore.g.'andtheyfeelttratthe.beroineof
want her
tlrat novel Ernrna Wooclhouse, is vain and snobbish: they wouldn't
that her
of
course,
knows,
for a friend or a roofllmate. But the author
in any
Emma
to
fike
supposed
yotr're

not
and
heroine is vain and srrobbistr
and
interesting
an
as
her
see
to
supposed
Youte
way.
simple-minded
complicated P€rson with virtues and vices'

Shehas natureand frailty that makeher fail to seethings clearly. She is
She
often wrong in intcrpreting the other characters' manners and remarks"
believes that Mr. Elton lor.es Harriet smith while he often addressesher

indirectly. she imagines that Frank churchill falls in love with her while
for
sometimeshe actsdeceitfully.Shetakesfor grantedthat Harriet Smith falls

and at the sametime shecannotseethat Harriet Smith doesnot
FrankChuLrchill
care aboul him at all. An itl judgementabout a personwhom she doesnot know
very well bnngs a fancy that, the person,JaneFairfax has an affair with MrDixon. Strebelievessheknows exactlythe othercharacters'feelingsbut shedoes
not know her own feelings. It takesHarriet Smith to make her realize her own
feelings vrhen Harriet Smith falls in love with Mr. Knightley. All of them
and the reality that result in
representthe discrepancybetweenthe appea.rance
ironies.Ttrestoryunfoldsin the seriesof ironies'
The seriesof ironiesin relationshipin Emmamakesthe writer wantsto
know more about them. Emma depicts human relationship and human nature,
and secrecythat result in seriesof
which are filled with surmises,self-deception,
ironies. Inrny is the most fascinatingaspectin JaneAusten'snovel Emms for the
writer. Irony in Emma createsa tension and a curiosity of what happensnextWhatiron.iescanhappenin a relationshipandhow they canhappencaptivatedthe
writer to analyzeJaneAusten'snov€l Emma'

The witer choosesto focusthe stuclyon EmmaWoodhouse'srelationship
becauseshe is the main characterin Emma. She has an accessto meet and
with almostall the other charactersin it Emmadescribesan ironic
communic:ate
fiction through out the story. The charactersin Emma often state something
indirectly. There are things, like events,remarks,and actions,and thoughtsthat
sometimesare not sameasthey may appear. Sometimes,thereare the differences
in the poirrtof views and possibilitiesof somethingbetweenthe readersand the
charactersin Emma.The unexpectedturnsof eventsthat are not expectedsurprise

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in Emma.All of themmakeout seriesof ironies.Ironiesunfold the
the characters
story in Emma-Accordingly,the writer intendsto hnd out the ironiesin Emm*

1.2. Statement of the Problem
Based on the reasons mentioned above, this study is intcnded to find otrt
the ironies that happen in the main character,Emma Woodhouse's relationship
with the other characters. ln Emma, there are discrepancies between the

appearance and reality in what the characters' say, do, and think in series of
events. All of them make ironies in Emma. Accordingly, the problem which
arises and is discussedin this study is:

What ironiescanhappenin the relationshipof the main character,Emma
Wrrodhousewith the othercharacters?

1.3.The Objectiveof the StudY
In line with the statementof the problem,this study is determinedto find
the ironies that can happenin the relationshipof the main character,Emma
Woodhout;ewith othercharacters.

1.4. Signilticanceof the StudY
The study on the ironies in Emma is expectedto give a viewpoint for
understandingthe novel. The writer hasan expectationthat this studycanhelp the
, sfildents of English Department of Widya Mandala Catholic University to
,xeeognize
the ironiesandtheir formsin JaneAusten'sEmma.Hopefullythis study

canalsodrlvelopthe students'analyticalskill in readingliteratureand enrichtheir
literary experience.

1.5.Scopeand Limitation
The subjectof the studyis JaneAusten'snovel Emma.The writer limits
her analysison finding out the ironiesthat can happenduring the main character's
relationship,Emma Woodhousewith the other charactersin Emma since they
build the story.Then,the writer fries to categoiznthe ironies found into the major
forms: verbal, dramatic,situationalirony which are statedby Roberts& Jacobs
and Perrine. Based on the statementof the problem i.e. in the characters'
the writer focuseson what the characterssay,think' and do, in the
relationsh:,ps,
seriesofevents.

1.6.Theoneticalof Framework
In analyzing Emma,the writer usessometheoriesrelatedto irony andthe
kinds of ironies,the intrinsic approach,andthe literary analysis. The writer hasto
put the tlaeoryof irony becauseit is fundamentallyneededrelating to her studyIrony is significantaspectfor the authorsbecauseirony makesthe authorsableto
make a compfessionof their materialswithout sinking the messagethey want to
give. The forms of irony are verbal irony, dramatic irony, situationalirony,
cosmicirony, andpoint of view irony (Kennedy,1979:85).In this studythe writer
gives mor:eemphasison the three major kinds of irony becausethis study is
intendedto find the threemajor ironiesin Emma.The threemajor kinds of irony

accordingto Roberts& Jacobsand Perrineare verbal irony, dramatic irony, and
situational irony, The writer also usesthe other experts' definition of irony to
definethe ironiesfound in EmmaThe writer discussesaboutthe intrinsic approachand the literary analysis.
The thoorlrof the intinsic approachgivesthe first way to interpretand to analyze
a literary work is to study and stay focus in it. Next, the writer discussesthe
literary analysis.The literary analysisis usedto get an understandingof a literary
work bettr:ris by dividing the elementsinto parts:character,plot, setting,and
theme.The writer usesall of the relatedtheoriesabovefor her studyon irony in
JaneAusten'snovel Emms.

1.7.Definitionof KeYTerms
The writer lists sometermsthat areusedin this studyin orderto avoidany
misinterpretation.The Grms are statedas follows:
1. Irony is a result of contradictoryor contrast. According to Roberts&
Jar:obs(1989:303)there are three major ironies in literature' They are
verrbalirony, dramatic irony, and situationalirony. Besidesthat there are
stitt point of view irony andtwist of fate irony.
Ve:rbalirony accordingto Guerinet al (1986:1135)is what one saysis the
oppositeof what he means.
3 . Dramaticirony is a deviceby which ateaderis madeawateof something
know(Guerinet al', 1986:1135)thecharacters

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4. Situational irony involves unexpectedturns of events (Guerin et
1 9 8 6:1 1 3 5 ).

1.8.Organization of the Thesis
This thesisconsistsof five chapters.ChapterI is introduction.ChapterII
deals with review of related literature.ChapterIII containsresearchmethod.
ChapterIV containsthe analysisand interpretationof findings and chapterV is
the conclusion.

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