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Source identified
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

Jane Austen · Narrator voice · Narrator

Source
Pride and Prejudice
Date
1813
Attribution
Source identified
Voice / speaker
Narrator voice · Narrator
Meaning

What does this quote mean?

The famous opening exposes assumptions about money, marriage, and social expectations while sounding as if it were stating an unquestionable fact.

Source context

Where does it come from?

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

Primary / edition source ↗

Voice attribution

Who voices the line?

Narrator voice · Narrator. The famous opening is Austen’s ironic narrator voice, not dialogue by one of the Bennet characters.

The source author and the local speaker can be different, especially in fiction, drama, dialogue and poetry.

Attribution

How should this attribution be read?

This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation