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
I do not know whether it ought to be so, but certainly silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. Wickedness is always wickedness, but folly is not always folly.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Silly actions can take on new significance depending on who performs them and how they are presented.
In this quote, Jane Austen explores the complexity of human behavior and the judgment we place on actions based on the context and the character of the individual involved. She suggests that what may seem foolish or silly can be transformed by the demeanor or intention of the person performing the act; therefore, actions are not inherently silly or wicked but can be viewed differently based on interpretation and perspective.
Themes
SillySensibleWickednessFollyPerception
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the nature of humor and irony in literature.
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
The Convention thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in men.
James MadisonRead
A society is in decay, final or transitional, when common sense really becomes uncommon.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust?
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyRead
We only consult the ear because the heart is wanting.
Blaise PascalRead
I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid.
Grover ClevelandRead
In this cry of pain the inner consciousness of the people seems to lay itself bare for an instant, and to reveal the mood of beings who feel their isolation in the face of a universe that wars on them with winds and seas.
John Millington SyngeRead