It's no wonder that British author Jane Austen's literary works are so relevant to the present day that generations after generations young girls have grown up reading her books. The world remembers her because of her way of creating most compelling female protagonists. Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Sense & Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma are the perfect portrayal of her thoughts on love, class, relationships and much more. On her 241st birthday, we take a look at some of the best quotes from her books and her characters (via goodreads).
1. No man is offended by another man's admiration of the woman he loves; it is the woman only who can make it a torment. — Northanger Abbey
2. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. — Pride and Prejudice
3. The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid ― Northanger Abbey
4. A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. — Pride and Prejudice
5. 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. — Pride and Prejudice
6. I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal. ― Jane Austen's Letters
7. Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim. — Northanger Abbey
8. Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us. — Pride and Prejudice
9. Angry people are not always wise. — Pride and Prejudice
10. I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives. ― Persuasion
11. 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. — Pride and Prejudice
12. Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. — Northanger Abbey
13. I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control. — Emma
14. Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. — Emma
15. Know your own happiness. Want for nothing but patience - or give it a more fascinating name: Call it hope. — Sense and Sensibility
