Jane Austen Quote of the Week- Week Seven
The other quotes so far have been from Jane's novels but I thought that I would remind everyone of a brilliant quote from one of Jane's letters to her beloved sister Cassandra. All of my contributions so far to this weekly feature have been very short quotes; I think that one of the wonderful attributes of Jane was how she could say so much with only a few words. Her strength of character and enormous bravery and independence as a woman is really demonstrated.
Anyway my quote, taken from her letter written on 24 December 1798:
"I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them."
I love these words and never bore of hearing them; they make me laugh every time. I really respect her character and wit.
I would love to hear any comments......
Pic: JA's watercolour painting done by Cassandra, c1810
Posts
4 comments:
Well done, Rachel. I googled this part "it saves me the trouble of liking them" and you would not believe how many others quote that. To top that, there is a blog by that quote.
I think the reason so many of us can identify with her is because she says what we think so often.
Linda the Librarian
I'm a Portuguese fan of Jane Austen, and this is one of my favorite quotes too. She was so wise and comic, that's why her novels are timeless.
Keep up the good work with this excellent blog.
Andreia, from Portugal
That is said by Jane Austen telling Cassandra how she spent her time at Manydown from where she returned that morning:
“…..I spent my time very quietly and very pleasantly with Catherine. Miss Blachford is agreeable enough. I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal…..”
Probably the meaning is that a person could not be liked only because he/she is agreeable and that may be a trouble and the more agreeable the greater trouble. That can be a notion only of very good expert in human characters.
Thank you Andreia and Boris for your comments. She was indeed an expert in the study of the human psyche and for that reason, her characters are perfectly formed and timeless.
Post a Comment