I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.
Jane AustenRead
How horrible it is to have so many people killed! And what a blessing that one cares for none of them!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the horror of loss and indifference towards the suffering of others.
In this quote, Jane Austen expresses a stark contradiction between the tragedy of many deaths and the paradoxical relief that comes from not caring about those who have perished. It provokes thought about human emotions and the distance we might maintain from the tragedies occurring around us, suggesting that this emotional detachment, while perhaps a defense mechanism, can also be viewed as a blessing.
Themes
DeathIndifferenceLossSufferingEmpathyBlessing
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about ethics in warfare, this quote can illustrate the emotional detachment some feel towards casualties.
More from Jane Austen
All quotes βNobody could catch cold by the sea; nobody wanted appetite by the sea; nobody wanted spirits; nobody wanted strength. Sea air was healing, softening, relaxing - fortifying and bracing - seemingly just as was wanted - sometimes one, sometimes the other. If the sea breeze failed, the seabath was the certain corrective; and where bathing disagreed, the sea air alone was evidently designed by nature for the cure.
Jane AustenRead
He certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.
Jane AustenRead
A person who is knowingly bent on bad behavior, gets upset when better behavior is expected of them.
Jane AustenRead
You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.
Jane AustenRead
She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! Alas! She must confess to herself that she was not wise yet.
Jane AustenRead
Similar quotes
I had it then. Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity. Why do I fight? I thought, and couldn't think of any real good reason. There isn't any real good reason for fighting except self-defense.
S. E. HintonRead
What is done out of love always occurs beyond good and evil.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
My grandfather was dying, and told the family he had decided to die. ... At that moment I wanted so badly to write and tell him that he was never going to die, that somehow he would always be present in my life, because he had a theory that death didn't exist, only forgetfulness did. He believed that if you can keep people in your memory, they will live forever. That's what he did with my grandmother.
Isabel AllendeRead
Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.
Martin LutherRead
It is ingrained in all living creatures, first of all, to preserve their own safety, to guard against what is harmful, to strive for what is advantageous.
Saint AmbroseRead
I want to work for a company that contributes to and is part of the community. I want something not just to invest in. I want something to believe in.
Anita RoddickRead