Flouting of Cooperative Principle in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Abstract

The present paper investigates the theory of implicatures and how H. P. Grice developed it. It sets out Grice's Cooperative Principle and describes the four conversational maxims that he believed were necessary for efficient communication. It also looks at implicature triggers and the deviation from the Cooperative Principle with reference to the ‘flouting' of Quantity maxim by the various characters in the novel Pride and Prejudice. Examples of flouting the maxim of Quantity have also been put under spotlight and analysis.