One of the best parts of being an English major is revisiting books I love in class. We've just wrapped up Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and are diving right into Austen's classic "Pride and Prejudice." I could write hundreds of words on why it's one of my favorite books, but that's an article for another day. For now, in order to take a trip down memory lane, I thought I'd page through my old copies of "Pride and Prejudice" and share some of my favorite quotes. No one knows how to impart wisdom on a rainy day quite like Austen, so cozy up with a blanket and some tea.
1. "Angry people are not always wise."
2. "For what do we live, but to make sport of our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?"
3. "You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure."
4. "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment."
5. "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library."
6. "There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense."
7. "There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome."
"And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody."
"And yours," he replied with a smile, "is wilfully to misunderstand them.”
8. "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."
9. "Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can."
10. "Do not consider me now as an elegant female intending to plague you, but as a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart."
11. “Now be sincere; did you admire me for my impertinence?"
"For the liveliness of your mind, I did.”
I have so many more tucked away, and if I could, I would go on forever about my favorite "Pride and Prejudice" lines. Now that we're about to dive right into it, don't be surprised if many more articles like this pop up — stay tuned for discussions about the movie, Lizzy Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and more.
