As in many of Austen's other novels, irony is employed in Pride and Prejudice as the lens through which society and human nature are viewed. Through the novel, Austen studies social relationships in the limited society of a country neighborhood and investigates them in detail with an often ironic and humorous eye. Note her presentation of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, for example. Their contrasting temperaments are first shown through their manner of conversation; Mrs. Bennet chatters on while Mr. Bennet counters her talk with mildly sarcastic statements, the mocking tone of which Mrs. Bennet completely misses. After letting the reader hear the contrast between the couple through their dialogue, Austen then provides a general summary of the two parents' differing personalities. The disparity between them is amusing, but it is also ironic. In a novel about couples overcoming misunderstandings of each other to reach marital happiness, the reader's first view of marriage is one of a mismatched couple that cannot communicate.
The excitement Mrs. Bennet feels about Bingley's arrival is shared by the rest of the neighborhood, giving the reader a glimpse of the nature of provincial society. Curiosity and gossip escalate with each Bingley sighting, and when Bingley leaves to bring more new faces into Hertfordshire, rumors about the size and composition of his group are constantly revised until he and his party make their appearance at the ball. This gossipy small town environment is a microcosm of society at large. When the narrator comments on the behaviors of the people of Hertfordshire, it can often be viewed as Austen's perspective on society as a whole.
