Quotes from the novel “Pride and Prejudice” (Jane Austen)
On January 28, 1813, Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice was published. This love story to this day does not leave any reader indifferent. Several films have been made based on the novel, and many phrases from it have become catchphrases.
About morality and life.
“All self-blame is disguised boasting.”
“Hostility stimulates the mind and is the most fertile ground for wit.”
“Women place too much importance on a single admiring glance.”
“The more I observe the world, the less I like it. Every day confirms to me the imperfection of human nature and the impossibility of relying on apparent decency and common sense.”
“... every person has a tendency to some kind of shortcoming - natural weakness cannot be overcome even by excellent upbringing.”
“Condescension towards one’s own person is human nature.”
“But every impulse of the soul should be checked with reason.”
“And I would willingly forgive him his pride if he had not wounded mine.”
“There is nothing more deceptive,” said Darcy, “than ostentatious modesty. Underneath it there is often hidden indifference to outside opinions, and sometimes disguised boasting.”
“ You cannot change your views on decency and virtue for the sake of one person. And you cannot convince me or yourself that selfishness is prudence, and disregard for common sense is the sure path to happiness.”
“People, however, change themselves so much that every now and then you can notice something new in each person.”
“Think about the past only when it brings back only pleasant memories.”
“We all love to teach others, although we can only convey to them what, perhaps, is not worth knowing.”
“We are often deceived by our own vanity.”
“Disregarding common sense is the surest path to happiness.”
“A person can be proud without being vain. Pride is more likely related to our own opinion of ourselves, while vanity is related to the opinion of other people that we would like them to form about us.”
“But where one cannot rejoice otherwise, a true philosopher knows how to benefit from what he has at his disposal.”
“I don’t know how to forget the stupidity and vices of my neighbors as quickly as I should, as well as the insults inflicted on me.”
“Pride... When there really is a flight of mind, it should always be present.”
“We all love to teach others, although we can only convey to them what, perhaps, is not worth knowing.”
“The most boring and hackneyed topic can acquire significance with the proper skill of the interlocutor.”
“Whoever does not complain himself will not receive sympathy.”
“I can’t vouch for my character... I can be called touchy: if I change my opinion about someone, it’s forever.”
“They are still too young, and their eyes have not yet been exposed to the merciless truth, by virtue of which the most attractive young people should have the same means of livelihood as the most ordinary ones.”
“ You shouldn’t believe that there is a limit to shamelessness for a shameless person.”
About women.
“How swift a woman’s imagination is! It jumps from simple approval to love and from love to marriage in one minute."
“If a woman hides her passion from her chosen one, she runs the risk of not keeping him. And then it will be little consolation for her to realize that the world remained in the same ignorance.”
“Any method used by women to attract men is low. Everything that comes from cunning is disgusting.”
“Only one who stands head and shoulders above everyone else can be considered truly educated. A woman who deserves this name must be well trained in music, singing, painting, dancing and foreign languages. And besides, she must have some special originality of appearance, manners, gait, intonation and language - otherwise this name will still be only half deserved.”
“Young ladies like to break their hearts from time to time - almost as much as they like to get married.”
About love.
“I often think that there is nothing worse than parting with those you love. You feel so lonely without them!”
“ We are all ready to get carried away a little completely unselfishly - a slight inclination is quite natural. But there are few people so generous as to love without any encouragement. Nine times out of ten, it’s better for a woman to appear more in love than she actually is.”
“Is n’t inattention to others the best proof of falling in love?”
“When his heart is won, she will have as much time as she wants to fall in love with him herself.”
“Whoever is interested in dancing, it doesn’t cost anything to fall in love.”
“His affection for her suddenly became especially dear to her - just when it could no longer be expected that it would remain.”
“ He had never experienced such a feeling of happiness before. And he tried to express it in such fiery and deeply felt words as could be found in a person seized by true passion.”
“The expression “head over heels in love” is so hackneyed, deceptive and vague that it means almost nothing. It is equally often used to describe the feeling that arose as a result of a half-hour acquaintance, and truly deep affection."
“Apart from marriage, what every young lady likes best is to suffer from unhappy love from time to time. It occupies her thoughts and makes her interesting in the eyes of her friends.”
“There are very few people whom I really love, and even fewer who I think well of.”
“Only a deep feeling can push me down the aisle, so I should be an old maid.”
“And she had never realized with such clarity how much she could love him as she did right now, at that very moment when there could no longer be any talk of any love between them.”
“Sometimes you have to fight even with yourself for happiness.”
About marriage.
“A bachelor, if he has a substantial fortune, must urgently need a wife, this is a generally accepted truth.”
“...How little true happiness awaits a married couple united under the influence of passions that turned out to be stronger than the sense of responsibility and duty.”
“Success in marriage depends entirely on chance. No matter how well the parties know their mutual inclinations and no matter how well they, at first glance, combine with each other, this does not in any way affect the happiness of the spouses. Over time, an inevitable discord will arise between them, and they will suffer all the grief that is due to them. And wouldn’t it be better in this case to know as little as possible the shortcomings of the person with whom you have to spend your life?”
Genre, direction
The work is written in the novel genre. All of Austen's works are characterized by the direction of realism. All the situations in her work are connected with arranged marriages, with love between people from different levels of society - a characteristic feature of that time. It was relevant then, and is still relevant today.
The entire narration of the novel comes from Elizabeth's perspective. The reader adopts the heroine's point of view. Feels the world through her eyes, her thoughts. This feature is characteristic of almost all of the author’s works. We learn about the feelings of other characters through letters. They also contribute to further revelation of the characters of certain characters. So, in one of the letters we learn about the essence of Mr. Wickham. Through him, the inner world of Mister Darcy himself is revealed.
The main characters and their characteristics
- The main character of the novel is Elizabeth Bennet , a sensible girl who knows exactly what she wants. Lizzie, as her father affectionately calls her, is incapable of adapting to anyone's wishes. She is ready to go against the opinion of the majority if she is sure that the solution they propose will not bring her happiness. Despite her sound mind, she is not without a light and cheerful disposition. He loves to joke and laugh, and is sympathetic to the whims of his family. She is not as insightful, but that is her charm. Over time, she will be able to see the true colors of the people around her. She judges them based on their first impression, but can just as easily change her mind when she realizes that she was mistaken about the person.
- Mr. Darcy is another main character. His image is composed of the main features of a rich and worthy man. He combines nobility with arrogance, great intelligence with disdain, and introverted behavior with a big heart. Mr. Darcy has a different upbringing than Elizabeth Bennet. He is a man of noble blood, belongs to a different level of society. He reveres everything discreet, neat and clear. He doesn't understand small town life. Initially, it seems as if this hero is a negative character, but over the course of the story his image is revealed. It becomes clear that despite the betrayal of a friend who was like a brother to him, despite the fact that it was difficult for him to accept his feelings for the “simpleton” Elizabeth, he showed his nobility, he helped Miss Lydia Bennet without any personal gain. He is the ideal of many girls.
The essence
At that time, marriages were arranged for convenience. Roughly speaking, if the party is beneficial for the future and for the family, then there is nothing to talk about. There will be a wedding. Getting married, marrying for love, was rare for people of that time. The book is dedicated to this problem: the heroine stubbornly defends her right to control her feelings. Perhaps with this work the writer wanted to show that defending your desire to marry for love is not so bad. Yes, there will be misunderstanding on the part of society, but on the other hand there will be no difficulties of living in the company of a person who is not particularly loved.
Despite the pressure of the environment, as the example of the heroine proves to us, it is worth remaining true to yourself. If you feel that you are doing the right thing, that your feelings do not deceive you, and you understand that otherwise it will be worse for you, then you need to continue to be confident in this and not succumb to the provocations of other people. This is the only way to remain happy and be known as a firm person who cannot be broken by other people’s opinions.
Topics and issues
- Obviously, the problem of pride , which becomes a barrier between lovers or loved ones. It destroys feelings, makes you resist and feel like an absolute “ram” because you are standing at a dead end and don’t want to budge even a millimeter. You see only a wall in front of you, but if you tense up and look to the side, you can see that this wall is easy to get around, you just have to understand that pride means nothing when it turns into pride and arrogance, fed by prejudices.
- The problem of social inequality and, as a consequence, prejudice . Jane Austen very successfully changed the title of the book. After all, in essence, it makes you wonder which of them is proud and which is prejudiced. Mr. Darcy hurt Elizabeth's pride by saying that she was neither so beautiful nor smart enough to be able to accompany him in the dance. Mr. Darcy is precisely prejudiced against Lizzie because of her family and first impression. It seems to him that a woman who is lower in origin and has such “strange” relatives cannot be next to him. But all this can be turned in the opposite direction. Mr. Darcy is too proud to even notice Elizabeth and show even a drop of condescension towards her, and Elizabeth is too prejudiced about his behavior in society, because he behaved very arrogantly and arrogantly. She has a definite opinion about him, therefore, she is already prejudiced and cannot discern something more serious and different in him.
- Again and again, the author touches on the topic of the influence of other people on a person’s opinion and action . Thus, Mr. Bingley was seriously influenced by Mr. Darcy. He, not being convinced of his own arguments, assured the poor lover that Jane was not particularly interested in him as a future beloved wife; rather, she was simply worried about the desire to get married in order to quickly satisfy her mother’s requests and leave her home. But in fact, Jane was a more subtle person who carefully hid her feelings so as not to seem frivolous.
- From this we can derive another small problem that is revealed in this work - the problem of closed character . Hiding your feelings so much that your beloved has no idea about reciprocity is not always good. But this is everyone's personal matter. Too individual.
- The topic of family and education is also touched upon to some extent . The relationship between Jane and Lizzie is great propaganda for modern society. Friendship between sisters, respectful attitude towards parents, love between parents, a dose of humor - all these are a combination of ideal components that form a strong bond in the family. Although their middle sister Mary was very different in character from the other two, she was loved. The family is multi-character and that is why it is good. In addition, the children were raised independently by Mrs. Bennet, without governesses. For high society, this is an indicator of recklessness, but, nevertheless, she managed and raised worthy daughters. Although Miss Lidy did not quite live up to her mother's expectations. Perhaps it was indeed because of insufficient upbringing that she grew up so frivolous.
