THE CONCEPT OF DOUBLE AUDIENCE FOR IRONY BASED ON THE THEORY OF BINARY OPPOSITION IN SENSE AND SENSIBILITY BY JANE AUSTEN

Abstract

Irony is defined as a figure of speech that allows authors to use words in a way that their intended meaning deviates from their actual meaning, simply put a difference between appearance and reality. The organization of these differences is established in the form of binary oppositions, which is the base where irony arises. This study will focus on Jane Austen's different technique, which is to juxtapose the two polar opposites with the use of irony in her novel Sense and Sensibility. By highlighting social hypocrisy and human relations, Jane Austen's major technique in this novel is to center all her phenomena such as the characters, their personality, feelings, and even the settings on oppositions with her ironic attitude. In the context of Austen's novels, the predominant technique is irony, which riddles with social conventions and incongruities more often than not with the presence of cultivated and educated characters. The reason is that the female writers of Austen's time intentionally created didactic heroines not only to meet the expectations but also to challenge the moral indoctrination of their societies operated by the established norms. It is suggested that Austen's dominant technique is not subtly the use of irony; furthermore, it also operates in the form of binaries that juxtaposes the polar opposites. From a structuralist perspective, it is observed that the novelist predicated the technique of irony on the form of binaries with the implications of the doubling of certain elements in her novel.