4.4.1 Macro Literal Irony
In reality，literal irony equals the ironic narration.Austen seldom made direct attacks or criticism，but expressed her irony with a satirical tone.
Example 15
Mr.John Dashwood had not the strong feelings of the rest of the family；but he was affected by a recommendation of such a nature at such a time，and he promised to do everything in his power to make them comfortable.His father was rendered easy by such an assurance，and Mr.John Dashwood had then leisure to consider how much there might prudently be in his power to do for them.
First，what does“strong feelings”mean here？The old Mr.Dashwood died，and all the family members were very sad about that.But is that true？So how do we make sense of what Austen really wants to say？We assume that the author is speaking ironically，and understand her roughly as follows：For Mrs.Dashwood and her three daughters，Mr.Dashwood's death meant they would lose their economic sources，so they worried their future.For Mr.John Dashwood，he did not feel as sad as Mrs.Dashwood and her daughters because before this he just came to Norland for occasional visits，though Mr.Dashwood's whole fortune was left to him.So here，we know why Mr.John Dashwood had not the strong feelings of the rest of the family.Then，Austen also adopted her classic ironic tone by using the word“affected”，“promised”and“everything”.If we go on reading this novel，we readers know that John's later actions were totally a contradiction with these words using on him.After a careful pondering，we readers are shed the light that here Austen used these words on purpose in order to ridicule the personality of John.Last，the word“prudently”interrupted the smoothness of narration.Since John promised to do everything in his power，why he had to consider prudently？So here the author's implicit meanings conveyed，and we are not surprised at all when finding people at that time were really hypocritical，selfish，cold-blooded and snobbish as Austen described.
Example 16
He was not an ill-disposed young man，unless to be rather cold hearted，and rather selfish，is to be illdisposed：but he was，in general，well respected；for he conducted himself with propriety in the discharge of his ordinary duties.Had he married a more amiable woman，he might have been made still more respectable than he was：—he might even have been made amiable himself；for he was very young when he married，and very fond of his wife.But Mrs.John Dashwood was a strong caricature of himself；—more narrow-minded and selfish.
Here，the starting ironic sentence set a basic tone for the whole story.Austen used an ironic way to introduce Mr.John Dashwood to us，even his wife.Since the introduction of this man started with“He was not an ill-supposed young man”，we might suppose that John was an up-right one，however，with the next sentence's appearance，“unless to be rather cold hearted，and rather selfish，is to be ill-disposed”，we got to know John's real personality and what the author intended to mock.As we all know，being cold hearted and selfish have the same sense with ill-disposed.Similarly，Mrs.John Dashwood didn't escape Austen's habitual irony.“But Mrs.John Dashwood was a strong caricature of himself；—more narrow-minded and selfish.”As usual，if something was put behind a dash，we may suppose that something is not very important and just as a supplement.Although here“narrow-minded and selfish”was put behind a dash mark，we know in fact narrow-minded and selfish was the real mirror of Mrs.John Dashwood，plus his husband's cold heart.
Example 17
Mrs.John Dashwood saw the packages depart with a sigh：she could not help feeling it hard that as Mrs.Dashwood's income would be so trifling in comparison with their own，she should have any handsome article of furniture.
With her marvelous literal irony，Austen displayed the dominant nature of envy，property-pursuing，and hypocrisy of the people at that time.
Example 18
It was necessary to the happiness ofboth；for however dissimilar in temper and outward behavior，they strongly resembled each other in that total want of talent and taste which confined their employments，unconnected with such as society produced，within a very narrow compass.Sir John was a sportsman，Lady Middleton a mother.He hunted and shot，and she humored her children；and these were their only resources.Lady Middleton had the advantage of being able to spoil her children all the year round；while Sir John's independent employments were in existence only half the time.Continual engagements at home and abroad，however，supplied all the deficiencies of nature and education；supported the good spirits of Sir John，and gave exercise to the good-breeding of his wife.
“...for however dissimilar in temper and outward behavior，they strongly resembled each other in that total want of talent and taste.”Using an ironic tone，Austen made a mock of Sir John and his wife Lady Middleton's short of talent and taste.“Lady Middleton had the advantage of being able to spoil her children all the year round.”The action of spoiling children can not be called an advantage of one's own，however，Austen used them at the same time in the same sentence in order to ridicule Lady Middleton's shallowness and ignorance.“Continual engagements at home and abroad，however，supplied all the deficiencies of nature and education；...，and gave exercise to the good-breeding ofhis wife.”Can continual engagements really supply the deficiencies of nature and education？Can we call a spoiled child good-breeding？With Austen's literal irony，we can perceive between the lines completely her satire and ridicule upon this couple.
Example 19
It would be an excellent match，for he was rich and she was handsome.Mrs.Jennings had been anxious to see Colonel Brandon well married，ever since her connection with Sir John first brought him to her knowledge；and she was always anxious to get a good husband for every pretty girl.
At the beginning of this paragraph，we get a deliberate macro irony from Austen，who laid bare the kind of marriage at that time founded on money instead oflove.Indeed，a woman of small fortune married a man oflarge fortune.Wasn't this an exquisite satire upon the society？
Example 20
Mrs.John Dashwood had so much confidence in her husband's judgment that she waited the very next day both on Mrs.Jennings and her daughter；and her confidence was rewarded by finding even the former，even the woman with whom her sisters were staying，by no means unworthy her notice；and as for Lady Middleton，she found her one of the most charming women in the world！
Lady Middleton was equally pleased with Mrs.Dashwood.There was a kind of cold hearted selfishness on both sides，which mutually attracted them；and they sympathized with each other in an insipid propriety of demeanor，and a general want of understanding.
Here we get a clear picture of Mrs.John Dashwood and Lady Middleton through Austen's literal irony.Mrs.John Dashwood found Mrs.Jennings“by no means unworthy her notice”.Was it Mrs.Jennings personality or looking that was by no means unworthy her notice？It was Mrs.Jennings'wealth that attracted Mrs.John Dashwood's notice.Even in Mrs.John Dashwood's eyes，Lady Middleton was the“most charming women in the world”only because Lady Middleton was the daughter of Mrs.Jennings.What a perfect compliment！Here，Mrs.John Dashwood's selfishness，hypocrisy，and coldblood were wholly exposed to our readers.Similarly，while introducing Lady Middleton，Austen also adopted her classic ironic tone，“a kind of cold hearted selfishness on both sides，which mutually attracted them；and they sympathized with each other in an insipid propriety of demeanor，and a general want of understanding”.Using a compliment ironic tone，Austen here made a mock of the two ladies'insipid demeanor and ignorance，and gave us a mirror of the two ladies'cold heart and selfishness.Here，Austen's exertion of irony was developed to perfection.