Many people approach Jane Austen’s work with either preconceived notions or hesitation, and neither are called for. Jane Austen is so much more than a typical writer of romance in 19th Century Britain. Her wit is hidden among the nooks and crannies of her novels. The characters in her stories are not simple-minded girls only concerned with finding husbands, but strong women trying to find their place in a man’s world. In my exploration of Jane Austen’s works, I have found several memorable quotations that I want to share. Hopefully after reading these, you’ll take another look at her novels and come to appreciate them the way I do.
1.“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune, should be in want of a wife.” – "Pride and Prejudice"
2.“It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” – "Sense and Sensibility"
3.“The person, be it gentlemen or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid.” – "Northanger Abbey"
4.“Why not seize pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!” – "Emma"
5.“The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!” – "Sense and Sensibility"
6.“Good opinion once lost, is lost forever.” – "Pride and Prejudice"
7.“A woman, especially if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.” – "Northanger Abbey"
8.“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” – "Northanger Abbey"
9. “One-half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.” – "Emma"
10.“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” – "Pride and Prejudice"
11.“When pain is over, the remembrance of it often becomes a pleasure.” – "Persuasion"
12.“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.” – "Persuasion"
13.“I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my own way.” – "Sense and Sensibility"
14.“We are all fools in love.” – "Pride and Prejudice"
15.“Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion.” – "Pride and Prejudice"
16.“Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” – "Mansfield Park"
17.“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” – "Northanger Abbey"
Now, go find a copy of a Jane Austen novel and start enjoying it!
