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Journalism of Courage
Jane Austen’s words have lived on for centuries because they are at once razor-sharp and tender, equal parts social critique and love letter to human nature. Whether you know her through the pages of Pride and Prejudice or the silver-screen versions of her stories, Austen’s wit cuts deep and her observations still feel startlingly modern.
Below, we have gathered ten of her most enduring lines, words that continue to shimmer, centuries later.
📌 “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
— Pride and Prejudice
Arguably the most famous opening line in English literature. With one sentence, Austen sums up and lampoons society’s obsession with wealth and marriage.
📌 “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.”
— Persuasion
Austen gives us a proto-feminist reminder: women long for depth, adventure, and agency.
📌 “It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”
— Sense and Sensibility
A lesson in character that feels as relevant in a world of curated Instagram feeds as it did in Regency drawing rooms.
📌 “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
— Northanger Abbey
For all the bibliophiles: Austen reminding us that reading isn’t just pastime, but proof of taste (and wit).
📌 “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.”
— Pride and Prejudice
A biting truth bomb from an age when marriages were transaction, and a line that still lands today.
6. “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”
— Emma
Few writers capture the ache of love unspoken as Austen does here. Restraint has rarely felt so romantic.
📌 “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves.”
— Northanger Abbey
Austen reminds us that true friendship is all or nothing.
📌 “Do anything rather than marry without affection.”
A radical stance for her time, Austen insists that love, not convenience, is the only real foundation for marriage.
📌 “Angry people are not always wise.”
— Pride and Prejudice
A warning that could be pinned above Twitter feeds in this day and age.
📌 “Till this moment I never knew myself.”
— Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth Bennet’s epiphany is Austen at her finest.
