--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The visible structure of Jane Austen's…" description: "\"“The visible structure of Jane Austen's stories may be flimsy enough; but their foundations drive deep down into the basic principles of human conduct...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/david-cecil-78868_jane-austen_the-visible-structure-of-jane-austen-s-s_1508694.jpg" --- # The visible structure of Jane Austen's stories may be… ![“The visible structure of Jane Austen's stories may be flimsy enough; but their foundations drive deep down into the basic principles of human conduct. On her bit of ivory she has engraved a criticism of life as serious and as considers as Hardy's.” quote by David Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/david-cecil-78868_jane-austen_the-visible-structure-of-jane-austen-s-s_1508694.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/david-cecil-78868_jane-austen_the-visible-structure-of-jane-austen-s-s_1508694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/david-cecil-78868_jane-austen_the-visible-structure-of-jane-austen-s-s_1508694.jpg) > ““The visible structure of Jane Austen's stories may be flimsy enough; but their foundations drive deep down into the basic principles of human conduct. On her bit of ivory she has engraved a criticism of life as serious and as considers as Hardy's.”” [David Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cecil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Austen’s stories may seem light, but their underlying structure reflects deep human behavior, comparable to Hardy’s serious critique. **In simple terms:** Austen’s work hides deep insights. Key Takeaway Look beyond surface. Themes literature human nature analysis Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading classics - teaching literature - writing analysis - critical essays Key Concepts narrative structure psychology Questions to Reflect On - What hidden themes do you notice? - How does structure shape meaning? A Different Perspective Surface simplicity may mislead readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen/) [Austen Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen-stories-5548802/) [Considers Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considers-hardy-5548803/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticism Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-life-578274/) [Jane austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jane-austen/) [Thomas-hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-hardy-190571/) ## Related quotes > [“Is it birthday weather for you, dear soul? Is it fine your way, With tall moon-daisies alight, and the mole Busy, and elegant hares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-day-lewis/is-it-birthday-weather-for-you-dear-soul-is-it-fine-your-way-with/) [Cecil Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-day-lewis/) > [“I have no fear of men, as such, nor of their books”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-have-no-fear-of-men-as-such-nor-of-their-books/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“By another angle, Hardy is pessimist about gods and optimist about the man. Bhutta”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecturer-m-k-bhutta-scholar/by-another-angle-hardy-is-pessimist-about-gods-and-optimist-about-the/) [Lecturer M K Bhutta Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecturer-m-k-bhutta-scholar/) > [“Well, what I mean is that I shouldn’t mind being a bride at a wedding, if I could be one without having a husband.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/well-what-i-mean-is-that-i-shouldn-t-mind-being-a-bride-at-a-wedding-2/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“When the love-led man had ceased from his labours Bathsheba came and looked him in the face. 'Gabriel, will you you stay on with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/when-the-love-led-man-had-ceased-from-his-labours-bathsheba-came-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Nick? Any idea?" Nick coughs too. "Nope. No idea at all." Wilbur gives him a stern look. "So what was the point in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-smale/nick-any-idea-nick-coughs-too-nope-no-idea-at-all-wilbur-gives-him-a/) [Holly Smale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-smale/) > [When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-identified-with-jane-austen-s/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [“Off to sell Jane Austen to the masses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-ann-nattress/off-to-sell-jane-austen-to-the-masses/) [Laurel Ann Nattress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-ann-nattress/) > [ \[On Jane Austen:\] To believe her limited in range because she was harmonious in method is as sensible as to imagine that when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/on-jane-austen-to-believe-her-limited-in-range-because-she-was/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [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/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-van/) > [ “\[Jane\] 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/) > [“The celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/the-celestial-brightness-of-pride-and-prejudice-is-unequalled-even-in/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [Look at Jane Austen. 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 David Cecil > [“It is often said that mankind needs a faith if the world is to be improved. In fact, unless the faith is vigilantly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cecil/it-is-often-said-that-mankind-needs-a-faith-if-the-world-is-to-be/) [David Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cecil/) > [“The critic's aim should be to interpret the work they are writing about and help readers appreciate it, by defining and analysing those qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cecil/the-critic-s-aim-should-be-to-interpret-the-work-they-are-writing/) [David Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cecil/) [Explore all 3 David Cecil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cecil/) ## More Austen quotes > [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/) > [Look at Jane Austen. 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 celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/the-celestial-brightness-of-pride-and-prejudice-is-unequalled-even-in/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-has-been-suggested-that-tiptree-is-female-a-theory-that-i-find/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Had Elizabeth Bennet known how wildly Darcy's heart beat for her, 'Pride and Prejudice' would barely have made it into a short story. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The visible structure of Jane Austen's stories may be flimsy enough; but their foundations drive deep down into the basic principles of human conduct. 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