--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was in my twenties, I strongly…" description: "\"When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.\" — Amanda Foreman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/amanda-foreman-9894_austen_when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-ide_243063.jpg" --- # When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane… ![“When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.” quote by Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/amanda-foreman-9894_austen_when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-ide_243063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/amanda-foreman-9894_austen_when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-ide_243063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/amanda-foreman-9894_austen_when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-ide_243063.jpg) > “When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.” [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She sees herself reflected in Emma’s blend of imperfections and altruistic intentions, highlighting personal growth through self‑awareness. **In simple terms:** Identifying with a flawed yet well‑meaning character. Key Takeaway Embrace your flaws while aiming to help others. Themes self‑reflection literature personal growth Mood introspective hopeful Type literary motivational When to use this quote - career development - volunteering - relationship building - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts character analysis humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do your imperfections shape your goals? - In what ways can you channel Emma’s desire to do good constructively? A Different Perspective Over‑identifying can blur personal boundaries and hinder objective self‑assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [I'm named after Jane Austen's Emma, and I've always been able to relate to her. She's strong, confident but quite tactless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/i-m-named-after-jane-austen-s-emma-and-i-ve-always-been-able-to/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“Jane Austen Emma”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jane-austen-emma/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart." Jane Austen in 'Emma”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-is-no-charm-equal-to-tenderness-of-heart-jane-austen-in-emma/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“There is safety in reserve, but no attraction. One cannot love a reserved person." Jane Austen in 'Emma”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-is-safety-in-reserve-but-no-attraction-one-cannot-love-a/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [From a plot perspective, what I finally found for my touchstone was that I consider 'Upside' to be a loose telling of Jane Austen's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-albertalli/from-a-plot-perspective-what-i-finally-found-for-my-touchstone-was/) [Becky Albertalli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-albertalli/) > [Am I overjoyed when somebody says, 'Oh, we're going to do another Jane Austen?' No - because there's never anything in it for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-malik/am-i-overjoyed-when-somebody-says-oh-we-re-going-to-do-another-jane/) [Art Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-malik/) > [I did a cover for 'Rolling Stone' the other day and it was a kind of crazy lack of outfit. I thought, 'Oh, Lord.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-mcgowan/i-did-a-cover-for-rolling-stone-the-other-day-and-it-was-a-kind-of/) [Rose McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-mcgowan/) > [Because I had grown up with Jane Austen novels and period dramas, I was very familiar with that period and that world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/because-i-had-grown-up-with-jane-austen-novels-and-period-dramas-i/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [I'm a Jane Austen/Jane Eyre kind of girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-grace/i-m-a-jane-austen-jane-eyre-kind-of-girl/) [Maggie Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-grace/) > [What I'd love to do would be to bring a person from the past to me. 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Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/look-at-jane-austen-her-characters-derive-in-a-reasonably-straight/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) ## More by Amanda Foreman > [When I read 'The Master', I felt that I had read a true classic. It's so rare nowadays that you have that feeling: it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-read-the-master-i-felt-that-i-had-read-a-true-classic-it-s-so/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [Over the years, the writers at DC Comics softened Wonder Woman's powers in ways that would have infuriated Marston. During the 1960s, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/over-the-years-the-writers-at-dc-comics-softened-wonder-woman-s/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [“trying his best to discourage them,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/trying-his-best-to-discourage-them/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [Almost the first thing Obama did in the White House was to return the bust of Winston Churchill to the British embassy. That suggests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the-white-house-was-to-return-the/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [As a working mother, wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law, I have to make constant moral choices. Every choice I make results in someone else suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/as-a-working-mother-wife-daughter-and-daughter-in-law-i-have-to-make/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [For centuries, divorce in the West was a male tool of control - a legislative chastity belt designed to ensure that a wife had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/for-centuries-divorce-in-the-west-was-a-male-tool-of-control-a/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [The creators of Wonder Woman had no interest in proving an actual link to the past. 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In his view, humanity started out under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/in-1861-bachofen-published-his-radical-thesis-that-the-amazons-were/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [It isn't enough for a book to be transporting or entertaining; it must also come from a place of knowledge and an understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/it-isn-t-enough-for-a-book-to-be-transporting-or-entertaining-it-must/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [When women do take on traditionally male subjects, certain male colleagues can seem affronted that a woman has dared to trespass on their subject.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-women-do-take-on-traditionally-male-subjects-certain-male/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [A small foot in China, no different from a tiny waist in Victorian England, represented the height of female refinement. For families with marriageable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/a-small-foot-in-china-no-different-from-a-tiny-waist-in-victorian/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [The photograph of the Queen sitting stiffly across the table from Glasgow resident Susan McCarron is so natural and expressive that it looks utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/the-photograph-of-the-queen-sitting-stiffly-across-the-table-from/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [“I feel I've done some things in life too late and others too early”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/i-feel-i-ve-done-some-things-in-life-too-late-and-others-too-early/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) [Explore all 69 Amanda Foreman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) ## More Austen quotes > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. 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Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [ “\[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [I'm kind of a mash-up of taste - Graham Greene and Jane Austen; W.G. Sebald and Alice Munro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-m-kind-of-a-mash-up-of-taste-graham-greene-and-jane-austen-w-g/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“You know, somewhere a Jane Austen angel just lost her wings over you saying that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-van/you-know-somewhere-a-jane-austen-angel-just-lost-her-wings-over-you/) Nichole Van > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/gratitude-not-merely-for-having-once-loved-her-but-for-loving-her/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I grew up on Jane Austen novels and was a massive literature fanatic when I was a kid - I read everything I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-king/i-grew-up-on-jane-austen-novels-and-was-a-massive-literature-fanatic/) [Georgia King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-king/) > [“I don't care a whit for Society. I think people should only marry someone who can offer them some bit of affection. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-st-george/i-don-t-care-a-whit-for-society-i-think-people-should-only-marry/) Harper St. George > [“Does everybody know everything in this town!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishnavi-nair-k/does-everybody-know-everything-in-this-town/) [Vaishnavi Nair K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishnavi-nair-k/) > [“People don't say what they mean very often. You have to read between the lines of their behavior, of what they say, to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/people-don-t-say-what-they-mean-very-often-you-have-to-read-between/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) Browse all 292 Austen quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amanda Foreman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-identified-with-jane-austen-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-identified-with-jane-austen-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/amanda-foreman-9894_austen_when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-ide_243063.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/amanda-foreman-9894_austen_when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-ide_243063.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/amanda-foreman-9894_austen_when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-ide_243063.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a…” — Amanda Foreman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amanda Foreman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was in my twenties,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-identified-with-jane-austen-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-identified-with-jane-austen-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```