Top 500 Jane Austen Quotes (2025 Update)
Page 10 of 10

451. “To be claimed as a good, though in an improper style, is at least better than being rejected as no good at all.”

— Jane Austen

452. “It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of a man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire.”

— Jane Austen

453. “An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she feels that she may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion. All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done.”

— Jane Austen

454. “How can you contrive to write so even?”

— Jane Austen

455. “But your mind is warped by an innate principle of general integrity, and, therefore, not accessible to the cool reasonings of family partiality, or a desire of revenge.”

— Jane Austen

456. “Every young lady may feel for my heroine in this critical moment, for every young lady has at some time or other known the same agitation.”

— Jane Austen

457. “To her own heart it was a delightful affair, to her imagination it was even a ridiculous one, but to her reason, her judgment, it was completely a puzzle.”

— Jane Austen

458. “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.”

— Jane Austen

459. “I am not afraid; for though I am the youngest, I’m the tallest.”

— Jane Austen

460. “It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy. I talked about the dance, and you ought to make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples.”

— Jane Austen

461. “Evil to some is always good to others.”

— Jane Austen

462. “He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never come there again.”

— Jane Austen

463. “I am certainly the most fortunate creature ever existed!”

— Jane Austen

464. “She wished such words unsaid with all her heart.”

— Jane Austen

465. “The publicis rather apt to be unreasonably discontented when a woman does marry again, than when she does not.”

— Jane Austen

466. “We can all begin freely – a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement.”

— Jane Austen

467. “He had an affectionate heart. He must love somebody.”

— Jane Austen

468. “I would rather have young people settle on a small income at once, and have to struggle with a few difficulties together, than be involved in a long engagement.”

— Jane Austen

469. “But to live in ignorance on such a point was impossible.”

— Jane Austen

470. “The progress of the friendship between Catherine and Isabella was quick as its beginning had been warm... and if a rainy morning deprived them of other enjoyments, they were still resolute in meeting in defiance of wet and dirt, and shut themselves up, to read novels together.”

— Jane Austen

471. “It taught me to hope,” said he, “as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before.” Mr. Darcy – Pride and Prejudice.”

— Jane Austen

472. “There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all BEGIN freely – a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten a women had better show MORE affection than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on.”

— Jane Austen

473. “I do not find myself making any use of the word sacrifice.”

— Jane Austen

474. “But when a young lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way.”

— Jane Austen

475. “Vanity, not love, has been my folly.”

— Jane Austen

476. “Elinor could sit still no longer. She almost ran out of the room, and as soon as the door was closed, burst into tears of joy, which at first she thought would never cease.”

— Jane Austen

477. “We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don’t care for.”

— Jane Austen

478. “We do not look in our great cities for our best morality.”

— Jane Austen

479. “There seemed a gulf impassable between them.”

— Jane Austen

480. “I have not the pleasure of understanding you.”

— Jane Austen

481. “I go too long without picking up a good book, I feel like I’ve done nothing useful with my life.”

— Jane Austen

482. “Mr. Bennet’s expectations were fully answered. His cousin was as absurd as he had hoped, and he listened to him with the keenest enjoyment.”

— Jane Austen

483. “I have no more to say. If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to any one less worthy.”

— Jane Austen

484. “It was for the sake of what had been, rather than what was.”

— Jane Austen

485. “Catherine hoped at least to pass uncensured through the crowd. As for admiration, it was always very welcome when it came, but she did not depend on it.”

— Jane Austen

486. “Husbands and wives generally understand when opposition will be vain.”

— Jane Austen

487. “If I mistake not, a strong sense of duty is no bad part of a woman’s portion.”

— Jane Austen

488. “It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now.”

— Jane Austen

489. “Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.”

— Jane Austen

490. “We neither of us perform to strangers.”

— Jane Austen

491. “People that marry can never part, but must go and keep house together. People that dance only stand opposite each other in a long room for half an hour.”

— Jane Austen

492. “Of this she was perfectly unaware; to her he was only the man who had made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with.”

— Jane Austen

493. “His feelings are warm, but I can imagine them rather changeable.”

— Jane Austen

494. “On every formal visit a child ought to be of the party, by way of provisions for discourse.”

— Jane Austen

495. “Portable property is happiness in a pocketbook.”

— Jane Austen

496. “Grant us peace, Almighty Father, so to pray as to deserve to be heard.”

— Jane Austen

497. “But there was happiness elsewhere which no description can reach.”

— Jane Austen

498. “To take a dislike to a young man, only because he appeared to be of a different disposition from himself, was unworthy the real liberality of mind.”

— Jane Austen

499. “She looked back as well as she could; but it was all confusion. She had taken up the idea, she supposed and made everything bend to it.”

— Jane Austen

500. “To begin perfect happiness at the respective ages of 26 and 18 is to do pretty well.”

— Jane Austen