Jane Austen Wisdom Quotes

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.

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.

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

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 58.

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

Sense and Sensibility.