1. Chapter 6 Conclusions
Chapter 6 presents the findings of the data analysis in Chapter 5 and attempts to
vindicate the analytical approach to the study of verbal irony in discourse. The research
questions are addressed according to the major findings herein, in addition to the
contributions that the discoveries make to the fields of linguistics and literature studies.
To conclude the chapter, the limitations to the study are explicated in order to aid future
research in the study of verbal irony.
6.1 Major Findings
The presentation of the major findings is centered on the research questions, and
how the results of the data analysis support the hypotheses derived from these questions.
1. What purpose does speaker intent and hearer uptake in verbal irony serve?
The two-tiered approach of classifying verbal irony using a modified speech act
theory for verifying S intent and further identifying H uptake with echoic allusions of
disagreement, neutral, and agreement groupings is essential to analyzing the role of
verbal irony in characterization. By pairing S intent with H uptake (two sides of the same
coin), the intention for the verbal irony to perform or create a personality characteristic is
verified. These two concurrent aspects of an utterance elucidate how verbal irony is
interpreted. Speaker intent, derived from the utterance’s illocutionary act, reveals the
purpose for verbal irony. Hearer uptake identifies the perlocutionary effect intended by
the S. Verbal irony is intended by the S for the H to construe the incongruity in the
utterance. The data analysis in Chapter 5 illustrates our first hypothesis, that
characterization through verbal irony is represented via S intent and H uptake, is correct.
2. How does Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s characterization occur in the novel?
The original contribution of this paper is the discovery that characterization is
portrayed through echoic groupings. The echoic groupings are our special contribution to
the echoic theory of verbal irony, first introduced by Sperber and Wilson (see section
2.4.2 for echoic theory). The echoic groupings aid in the examination of characterization
through verbal irony by illuminating the echoic allusion within each utterance. A further
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2. observation is identified through multiple phases based upon these echoic groupings to
reveal Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s characterization according to the plot’s premises, which
contain conversational themes.
A significant finding of the data analysis was the connection between the number of
ironical performative speech acts within each phase and the character development that
occurs within the premises of each phase. The disagreement dominant phase holds 47
ironical performative speech acts, the majority of the 81 total throughout the novel. The
greater part of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth’s characterization takes place in the disagreement
dominant phase. The phase represents their interactions based on societal views, as they
draw each other out in opposition to support the underlying premises which explain the
nature of their characterization. Within the disagreement dominant phase, the most
significant thematic dialogue is Ridicule, which contains 20 ironical performative speech
acts. This dialogue illustrates that the purpose of Austen’s irony is to reveal critical views
of her society carried out through Elizabeth to ridicule others, highlighting Austen’s
alternative views on societal norms.
The neutral dominant phase includes 24 ironical performative speech acts, which
represent the progression of character development through fewer ironies, necessary to
express their individual views via echoic allusions, demonstrating their similarities in
character. Finally, the agreement dominant phase contains 10 ironical performative
speech acts to signal the end of characterization. The verbal irony consists of friendly
banter to echo the prior moments in their relationship and bring to light the divergence in
their previous oppositions and present mutual sentiments and understanding. The
significant findings are the three phases of characterization in Pride and Prejudice
between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, i.e. disagreement dominant phase, neutral dominant
phase, and agreement dominant phase. These three phases of characterization
demonstrate the course of characterization between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.
Disagreement dominant phase presents their conflicting societal outlooks, neutral
dominant phase emphasizes their individual personalities, and the agreement dominant
phase reveals the two characters to be consonant.
3. How does verbal irony pragmatically function in characterization?
Verbal irony provides an angle for the ironist to express differing views on societal
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3. norms or personal judgments because of the dual meanings contended in an utterance.
The duality conceals the S’s intended meaning and provides a safe avenue for candor, and
character construction occurs through the dual layers where the truth is often hidden
behind the literal meaning of an utterance. Verbal irony offers a S a way to challenge
societal dictates or taboo subjects. For instance, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy utilized verbal
irony for covertly criticizing each other’s outlooks, providing Elizabeth with the
opportunity to alter Mr. Darcy’s proud nature regarding social norms. In addition,
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy use their verbal irony as a form of bantering in order to playfully
tease each other, expressing their mutual sentiments by echoing the course of their
characterization.
Throughout the three phases of characterization, Elizabeth’s ironical performative
speech acts are working to construct Mr. Darcy’s and her own character. Elizabeth and
Mr. Darcy’s characterization ranges from the disagreement dominant phase depicted by
critical irony, the neutral dominant phase shown through civil banter, and the agreement
dominant phase comprised of friendly irony. Elizabeth defines herself through her
feminist views prominent within her ironical utterances, and attempts to sway Mr. Darcy
to assume these more egalitarian views as his own. Elizabeth’s exceptional character
represented through her ironical performative speech acts is an ideal example of Butler’s
concept of character construction via performative speech acts, where she argues that the
performative speech acts show gender and identity formation. This research tested the
application of Butler’s performative speech acts to verbal irony, discovering that ironical
performative speech acts are sufficient to construct character identity. Elizabeth
constructs her feminist identity echoing her views on gender norms, especially marriage,
within Regency-era England. In other words, these views are an expression of hoping to
correct the unequal status of women. For instance, the fact that the women in the novel
are not afforded with equal education, or that it is considered improper for women to
exercise, yet Elizabeth takes no qualms to the contrary. Elizabeth mainly employs
oppositional irony entailing her higher moral standards to achieve her goals of
constructing Mr. Darcy’s character (see section 2.5 for the functions of verbal irony). In
this case the main objective of the verbal irony is to correct Mr. Darcy’s narrow
worldview. Elizabeth’s unconventional character does not change throughout the novel,
although she realizes her prejudiced inspections of Mr. Darcy and abandons these views
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4. at the end.
4. What is the essential link between characterization and verbal irony?
The data analysis of ironical performative speech acts shows how these ironical
performative speech acts are employed by Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to construct each
other’s character. As such, we conclude that in Pride and Prejudice, ironical performative
utterances are used to develop the characterization of our two protagonists through the
echoic groupings, laid out as echoic grouping dominance phases in the story plot. In
Figure 4.2 we depicted the frequency and distribution of ironical performative speech
acts throughout our sample of ironical utterances between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in
their conversations. From Figure 5.1, we made a conjecture that the frequency of all 157
ironical speech acts shown through echoic grouping dominance indicates their role in
characterization. The data analysis offered an in-depth examination of each echoic
grouping dominance phase, where major premises provide a sound base for Elizabeth and
Mr. Darcy’s thematic ironical dialogues.
To supplement the evidence from the graph in Figure 4.2, we testified for a
correlation between the three echoic groupings of verbal irony that show characterization
using the Pearson’s Chi-squared test. As explained in the test results (see section 4.3 for
the Pearson’s Chi-squared test results), the one speech act classification shown to have a
correlation with echoic groupings was ironical performative speech acts. The results
solidify our argument and prove the second hypothesis put forth is accurate: that echoic
groupings depict characterization when utterances are comprised of disagreement,
neutral, and agreement groupings. The logical steps of our argument, that echoic
groupings demonstrate characterization through verbal irony, stem from the three steps.
In Step 1, the study utilizes Butler’s theory that performative speech acts construct
identity (refer to section 3.1.1 for character construction). In Step 2, the Pearson’s Chi-
squared test results concluded that ironical performative speech acts have a correlation
with the echoic groupings (see section 4.3 for the test results). Therefore, Step 3 is that
echoic groupings illustrate the characterization through ironical performative speech acts,
meaning the characterization occurs through verbal irony according to echoic grouping
dominance phases (refer to Figure 5.1).
Thus, we affirm the successful execution of data analysis to render our hypotheses
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5. correct in regards to these research questions. Figure 4.2 shows the frequency of ironical
performative speech acts throughout the ironical exchange between Mr. Darcy and
Elizabeth, which is further supported by the Pearson’s Chi-squared test results, showing a
correlation between ironical performative speech acts and echoic groupings
(disagreement, neutral, agreement). The statistical test complements the text analysis of
the ironical utterances. Although, it is necessary to note that the test results are not
definitely conclusive, and we did not employ inferential statistics so no future predictions
can be made about the relationship between performative speech acts and echoic
groupings, but we do know from this research that a correlation does in fact exist between
the two variables. The results support Butler’s claim that performative speech acts create
and construct character identity. Furthermore, an original contribution implicated from
the results is that the character construction through verbal irony is revealed through the
echoic groupings. Therefore, this study establishes the significance of echoic groupings to
depict characterization through ironical performative speech acts. The echoic groupings,
based upon the echoic allusion of each individual utterance, provide a way to approach
the study of verbal irony in characterization.
6.2 Contributions
6.2.1 Linguistics Studies
This study has focused on utilizing linguistic theories for identifying ironical
formations within performative speech acts, which depict the characterization of Mr.
Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. The pragmatic analyses of discourse
exhibiting verbal irony as a linguistic device could be admissibly used to facilitate further
discussion in other corpuses where verbal irony is felt but not explicated. Furthermore,
discourse involving personal conflict will benefit from the resourcefulness of ironical
performative speech acts as methods for stimulating resolution between characters
because verbal irony provides an avenue for people to innocuously convey their
judgments. In addition to the practical implications of the research, the results also have
theoretical contributions to the field of linguistics.
The major contribution of this study for future research in linguistics is the
modification to Searle’s (2001b) [1979] speech act theory. The modification of Searle’s
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6. speech act taxonomy to include Butler’s (2002) [1990] performative speech act provides
future researchers a bridge to close the gap between Searle’s taxonomy and identity
construction. The gap between Searle’s taxonomy and identity construction is the
utterances which lack an authoritative backing and are therefore difficult to include in the
taxonomy (see section 3.1.1 for the discussion of performative speech acts). Searle’s
declaration classification was rigid and unable to accommodate Mr. Darcy’s and
Elizabeth’s altering identities, in that it did not account for the performativity of an
utterance lacking a proper institutional authoritative backing (i.e. the performative
utterances were not always official proclamations of identity from a figure such as a
judge in a court). Performative speech acts illustrate that institutional authority is
unnecessary, because they account for character construction when the utterance is
ironical and allow for a character’s identity to alter. The methodology which led to the
dominant phases of echoic groupings provides evidence that a character’s identity is not
static. The utterances which belong to a single echoic grouping are not found to be
consecutive; one dialogue may include utterances from one, two or even all three of the
echoic groupings.
This finding supports the modification of Searle’s (2001b) [1979] speech act theory
to replace declarations with Butler’s (2002) [1990] performative speech acts, as character
identity has fluidity and may alter gradually or immediately, with the performative speech
acts oscillating between echoic groupings. Without the incorporation of performative
speech acts, the verbal ironies would be impossible to classify and a large portion of the
utterances which depict characterization would be mistakenly excluded from the analysis.
This research offers an adaptable approach to analyzing the creation of character identity
which entails verbal irony. Mr. Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s character constructions do not
appear as one identity consecutively replacing another through their ironical interactions.
Their characterization is fully developed at the end of the novel after the ironical
performative utterances have unveiled their true characters piece by piece throughout
their conversations.
The emphasis on both S intent and H uptake in classification and analysis is a central
attribute of this study. The necessity of including both aspects of the ironical utterance
vindicates the analytical approach of utilizing multiple theories in combination. Speech
act theory, in stressing literal meaning, provides the basis for understanding the dual
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7. layers of verbal irony. Our modified speech act theory addresses the S’s intent through
highlighting the illocutionary act, yet additional support is needed for analyzing the S’s
intention for the H’s uptake. Echoic allusions lend strength for classification from the
effect of the perlocutionary act. In addition, the incongruity and superiority theories
function to explicate the verbal irony found within the perlocutionary act of an utterance.
The multi-faceted approach offers an addendum to speech act theory for its utilization in
the interpretation of verbal irony.
This analytical framework further expands the study of verbal irony through our
original contribution of echoic groupings to explain characterization (see section 3.1.2 for
echoic groupings). Because this research defines verbal irony utilizing the concept of the
echoic allusion, the incorporation of echoic groupings to explicate characterization is
applicable to research on character identity when verbal irony is present. Echoic
groupings allow the verbal irony to have greater explanatory power in the analysis of
characterization, for the echoic allusions found within each ironical utterance are
necessary to determine the progression of character construction.
Each subsequent utterance within a dialogue adds to the discourse, and echoic
allusions are necessary to provide a foundation for the echoic grouping of each utterance.
As a result, the echoic grouping of each ironical utterance is vital for determining
characterization according to the echoic grouping dominance phases. The theoretical
construct of echoic groupings can be useful for verbal irony or other types of figurative
language, although in other literary and non-literary works the three phases may not be in
the same order as they are found within Pride and Prejudice. Also, other works may have
fewer echoic groupings than we identified in this study; the characterization may differ
for various works depending on the presentation of discourse.
6.2.2 Literature Studies
Butler’s (1997) notion of subjection (see section 3.1.1 for Butler’s subjection) holds
weight for explicating Mr. Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s character constructions with
performative speech acts, for subjection is the performative process by which identities
are formed through linguistic means. Subjection is essential to provide the rationale
behind performative speech acts in order to address the issue of institutional authority
with declarations. Subjection is eloquently illustrated in the interactions between Mr.
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8. Darcy and Elizabeth, for Elizabeth the iconic feminist figure has a profound impact upon
Mr. Darcy’s character. Mr. Darcy was essentially subjected to the power of Elizabeth’s
discourse, forming his identity as a subject. His struggle against Elizabeth’s conception of
his identity throughout their ironical exchange molded his characterization, altering his
moral character by the end of the novel. It is Elizabeth’s feminist nature which impacts
Mr. Darcy and eventually influences him to alter his moral character. Throughout the
novel Mr. Darcy is subjected to Elizabeth’s feminist views, her primary source of power
through discourse, and with this power she essentially creates Mr. Darcy as a subject by
constructing his identity through her verbal irony. This discovery of subjection’s
usefulness in analyzing characters within a novel is valuable for understanding character
development. Specifically, subjection is influential in analyzing the power struggle
between a novel’s protagonists, and possibly antagonists.
Additionally, using the concept of subjection for analysis may not only be limited to
the literary world. Subjection offers valuable insight into the power of language to
construct identities of various entities. Thus it follows that our method of analyzing
ironical performative speech acts through echoic groupings of characterization is not
limited to analyzing fictional characters. Furthermore, the approach of this study is not
excluded to the bounds of one historical context; the analytical framework may be
applied to works from any historical era. In essence, the approach for analyzing verbal
irony through performative speech acts which construct character identity can be
considered both horizontal and vertical as it breaches the confines of social and period
relativity to incorporate a variety of contexts. For example, the same approach may be
applied to both an ancient Chinese text and a novel set in modern-day England, which
exist in drastically different contexts.
6.3 Limitations and Suggestions
Limitations in our study include but are not restricted to the divergent perceptions in
classifying ironical utterances in speech act theory. The intricacy inherent in figurative
language renders some of these speech acts difficult to distinguish. Classifying speech
acts, especially using the new category of performative speech acts, can be an intricate
task because contextual clues necessary for classification can be equivocal. For example,
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9. the category of performative speech acts has fluid boundaries. In some instances,
directive speech acts are in essence performatives according to their illocutionary points
that entail the process of identity construction (for example, asking an individual “Aren’t
you a happy person?”). However, we classify these types of speech acts as directives
because they are presented in the form of a request/question for the H to do something
(propose to the world according to the word’s design), according to Searle’s speech act
taxonomy’s directional fit (see section 2.2.2 for directional fit). The directional fit of
directives is opposed to that of performative speech acts, which simultaneously bring
something into existence as they are spoken (see section 3.1.1 for performative speech
acts). Because other branches of classification come into purview when using the
modified speech act taxonomy, explained in the example of directives above, alternate
approaches of classification should be considered to lend support in this area, such as
semantic and cognitive aspects of the utterance.
We recognize a limit to the research on ironical performative speech acts by
exclusively analyzing utterances that allude to people and, hence elucidate their
identities. It is imperative to understand that although the scope of this paper is limited to
humans, performative speech acts are also useful for explaining the construction of
tangible objects, or abstract concepts such as organizational and national identity. Due to
the in-depth nature of our study, take note that we did not make full use of other
disciplinary procedures that can provide information in the examination of
characterization through ironical performative speech acts and the other topics touched
upon in our study. A further limitation to studying verbal irony and irony in general is the
uncertainty of defining irony. We find that verifying what verbal irony is and is not
proves to be difficult, especially considering utterances may be interpreted differently
depending upon the context in which the utterance takes place. Future studies should take
these limitations into account when attempting to advance the research on the role of
verbal irony in characterization. We suggest that future researchers apply this approach to
other types of figurative language besides verbal irony, such as verbal humor, to further
attest to its validity in analyzing character construction. In addition, we urge future
researchers to explore alternative quantitative methods to supplement the analysis of
character construction through figurative language.
The strength of our approach renders it applicable to copious literary works,
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10. originating from many socio-cultural regions from various time periods. The findings
encourage the application of this research to future studies in order to enhance the
discovery of the link between performative speech acts and characterization, specifically
in the ability of performative speech acts to explain characterization through verbal irony.
Verbal irony, frequently used for indirect communication, is a common type of figurative
language, yet its enigmatic nature proves it a complex subject for analysis. The
introduction of performative speech acts has significance due to its general applicability
for illustrating characterization; in turn the explication of characterization is further
enhanced through echoic groupings when verbal irony is present. This research has
offered an innovative approach to deciphering verbal irony in its relation to
characterization, and has set the groundwork for future studies of figurative language.
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