Jane Austen Quotes: Sources, Meanings & Themes

Emma, Volume II, Chapter XIII, scan-backed 1816 John Murray first edition on Wikisource. This corrects the inherited Volume III note: Emma says to herself that there is no charm equal to tenderness of heart after Harriet’s gratitude and affection move her to reassess Harriet’s character.

Emma, Volume II, Chapter XIV, scan-backed 1816 John Murray first edition on Wikisource. Mrs. Elton declares that there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort while boasting at length about her supposed devotion to home, Maple Grove and social independence; the comic context makes this fictional character speech rather than Austen’s unqualified domestic maxim.

Emma, Volume III, Chapter XIII, scan-backed 1816 John Murray first edition on Wikisource. George Knightley tells Emma “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more” during his declaration, explicitly contrasting the depth of his feeling with his difficulty making polished speeches.

Emma, Volume I, Chapter IX, scan-backed 1816 John Murray first edition on Wikisource. Emma tells her father that one half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other while explaining why his grandchildren enjoy rough play that he himself cannot comprehend; this is Emma Woodhouse’s fictional dialogue, not Austen speaking autobiographically.

Emma, Volume III, Chapter XIII, scan-backed 1816 John Murray first edition on Wikisource. The narrator observes that complete truth seldom belongs to any human disclosure while explaining that even the Emma–Knightley understanding contains mistaken conduct alongside genuine feeling.

Emma, Volume II, Chapter VIII, scan-backed 1816 John Murray first edition on Wikisource. After Frank Churchill returns from an impulsive haircut, Emma “moralised to herself” that silly things can cease to seem silly when sensible people do them impudently. This is Emma Woodhouse’s ironic private judgment inside the novel, not Austen endorsing impudence as a general rule.

Mary Crawford makes the remark while discussing motives and conduct in company.

The novel contrasts outside pressure with the value of attending to one’s own judgment.

Northanger Abbey.

Northanger Abbey, in Henry Tilney’s conversation about reading novels.

Persuasion, Chapter XXIII, Project Gutenberg #105. Captain Frederick Wentworth writes the line to Anne Elliot while listening to her conversation with Captain Harville; the letter is signed “F. W.” and is fictional character writing, not Austen autobiography.

Persuasion, Chapter XXIII. Captain Frederick Wentworth says this to Anne Elliot while reflecting on the six years of separation his pride helped prolong.

Persuasion, Chapter XXIII, Project Gutenberg #105. Anne Elliot says this to Captain Harville while contrasting women’s domestic confinement with men’s professions, business, travel and continual occupation. It is a historically situated fictional argument, not a modern mental-health claim.

Persuasion, Chapter IV, Project Gutenberg #105. This is narrator commentary after Anne reconsiders the engagement she ended at nineteen under Lady Russell’s persuasion.

Persuasion, Chapter XXIII, Project Gutenberg #105. Anne Elliot says this to Captain Harville while refusing to let books settle their argument about whether men or women love longer.

Persuasion, Chapter XXIII, Project Gutenberg #105. Anne Elliot says this to Captain Harville after he describes men’s attachment to wives and families; the exchange immediately leads into Wentworth’s written declaration.

Pride and Prejudice; the line is preserved in the novel’s dialogue about anger, judgment, and the limits of certainty while emotions are high.

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XI, Project Gutenberg #1342. Fitzwilliam Darcy says this to Elizabeth Bennet during their discussion of faults; Elizabeth immediately identifies the position as implacable resentment, so the novel itself does not leave the maxim unchallenged.

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11; context is ironic.

Pride and Prejudice; Elizabeth answers a conversation in which reading is being used as a social signal.

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 58.

Pride and Prejudice, Volume 1, Chapter 1; Mr. Bennet responds to his wife’s complaint about her nerves.

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 57; Mr. Bennet comments on the absurd rumour concerning Elizabeth and Darcy.

Opening sentence of Chapter 1; the narrator immediately signals the novel’s social irony.

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXXI, Project Gutenberg #1342. Elizabeth Bennet says this to Mr. Darcy at Rosings while he stands near the pianoforte as she plays. Darcy immediately teases her that she sometimes enjoys professing opinions that are not entirely her own, so the line also carries Austen’s character comedy.

Sense and Sensibility.