Jane Austen quotes

Quotes by Jane Austen

1. Love

   “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

   – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

   Meaning: Mr Darcy tried hard not to fall in love with Elizabeth, but he failed. Now he must tell her how strongly he feels.

   In vain

   – without success

   repressed

   – kept hidden or controlled

   ardently

   – with strong, passionate feeling

2. Happiness

   “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.”

   – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

   Meaning: Charlotte Lucas says, with dry humour, that you can't plan a happy marriage, so it's not worth knowing your partner too well before you marry. Austen is gently mocking this practical view.

3. Reading & books

   “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

   – Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1817)

   Meaning: A playful defence of novels, said by the hero Henry Tilney: anyone who can't enjoy a good story must be very dull.

   intolerably

   – so much that it is hard to accept

4. Reading & books

   “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!”

   – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

   Meaning: Nothing is as pleasant as reading. In the novel the line is ironic: Caroline Bingley says it only to impress Mr Darcy, and soon gets bored of her book.

   I declare

   – an old-fashioned way to say "I really think" or show surprise