About Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen’s plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security.
Born: 16 December 1775, Steventon, United Kingdom
Died: 18 July 1817, Winchester, United Kingdom
100 Top Quotes by Jane Austen in English
- “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!”
- “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
- “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.”
- “Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.”
- “I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.”
- “There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.”
- “One cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.”
- “I have not the pleasure of understanding you.”
- “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.”
- “It is not what we say or feel that makes us who we are. It is what we do.”
- “What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.”
- “It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”
- “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
- “Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.”
- “What are men to rocks and mountains?”
- “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?”
- “Our scars make us know that our past was for real.”
- “I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.”
- “Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.”
- “A person, who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.”
- “The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone.”
- “Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.”
- “For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?”
- “Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure.”
- “One man’s ways may be as good as another’s, but we all like our own best.”
- “It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.”
- “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.”
- “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
- “Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.”
- “There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.”
- “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures.”
- “What is done in love is done well.”
- “Business, you know, may bring you money, but friendship hardly ever does.”
- “I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.”
- “The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.”
- “To be in the company of a beloved friend is surely a pleasure that should be enjoyed to the fullest extent possible.”
- “It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy; it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.”
- “I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love.”
- “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”
- “One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.”
- “To flatter and follow others, without being flattered and followed in turn, is but a state of half enjoyment.”
- “I am not a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things.”
- “There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time.”
- “The distance is nothing when one has a motive.”
- “It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.”
- “We do not look in our great cities for our best morality.”
- “What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.”
- “There is nothing so dangerous as a headstrong young woman.”
- “How quick come the reasons for approving what we like!”
- “There are certainly not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.”
- “I cannot make speeches, Emma… If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”
- “One man’s style must not be the rule of another’s.”
- “It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.”
- “I always deserve the best treatment because I never put up with any other.”
- “We do not suffer by accident.”
- “It is not every man’s fate to marry the woman who loves him best.”
- “I cannot think well of a man who sports with any woman’s feelings; and there may often be a great deal more suffered than a stander-by can judge of.”
- “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.”
- “A person who can write a long letter with ease cannot write ill.”
- “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
- “Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.”
- “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”
- “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.”
- “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.”
- “One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering.”
- “A mind lively and at ease, can do with seeing nothing, and can see nothing that does not answer.”
- “A person who can write a long letter with ease cannot write ill.”
- “It is happy for you that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy. May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment, or are they the result of previous study?”
- “I am determined that only the deepest love will induce me into matrimony.”
- “I cannot think well of a man who sports with any woman’s feelings; and there may often be a great deal more suffered than a stander-by can judge of.”
- “Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.”
- “I cannot think of any one as a friend who has not his own mind.”
- “Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure.”
- “It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.”
- “There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.”
- “Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.”
- “I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.”
- “One cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.”
- “I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.”
- “It is such a happiness when good people get together, and they always do.”
- “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?”
- “Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.”
- “I am not fond of the idea of my shrubberies being always approachable.”
- “We do not suffer by accident.”
- “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
- “A man would always wish to give a woman a better home than the one he takes her from; and he who can do it, where there is no doubt of her regard, must, I think, be the happiest of mortals.”
- “Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands.”
- “It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.”
- “I cannot make speeches, Emma… If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”
- “How quick come the reasons for approving what we like!”
- “There are certainly not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.”
- “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
- “An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.”
- “But, my dear sister, though the event has proved you right, do not think me obstinate if I still assert that, considering what her behaviour was, my confidence was as natural as your suspicion.”
- “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!”
- “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.”
- “My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
- “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”
- “To flatter and follow others, without being flattered and followed in turn, is but a state of half enjoyment.”
FAQs:
Q: Who is Jane Austen?
A: Jane Austen was an English novelist known for her works of romantic fiction, including “Pride and Prejudice,” “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Emma.”
Q: When was Jane Austen born?
A: Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775.
Q: What are some of Jane Austen’s most famous books?
A: Some of Jane Austen’s most famous books include “Pride and Prejudice,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Emma,” and “Mansfield Park.”
Q: What themes are present in Jane Austen’s novels?
A: Jane Austen’s novels often explore themes of love, class, and social status. Her works also critique the societal norms and expectations of her time.
Q: Did Jane Austen ever marry?
A: No, Jane Austen never married.
Q: How did Jane Austen’s upbringing influence her writing?
A: Jane Austen’s upbringing in the English countryside and her exposure to the societal norms and expectations of her time greatly influenced her writing. Her works often depict the lives and struggles of women in the upper-middle class of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Q: Where can I visit places associated with Jane Austen?
A: Fans of Jane Austen can visit her birthplace in Steventon, Hampshire, England, as well as her former homes in Bath and Chawton. The Jane Austen Centre in Bath is also a popular attraction.
Q: How has Jane Austen’s legacy influenced literature and popular culture?
A: Jane Austen’s legacy has had a significant impact on literature and popular culture. Her works have been adapted into numerous films, television shows, and stage productions. Additionally, her writing style and themes have inspired countless writers and continue to resonate with readers today.
Q: What are some notable adaptations of Jane Austen’s works?
A: Notable adaptations of Jane Austen’s works include the films “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), “Pride and Prejudice” (2005), and “Emma” (2020), as well as the television series “Pride and Prejudice” (1995) and “Sanditon” (2019).
