--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But some characters in books are really…" description: "\"But some characters in books are really real--Jane Austen's are; and I know those five Bennets at the opening of Pride and Prejudice, simply waiting to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/dodie-smith-1724_austen_but-some-characters-in-books-are-really_1989028.jpg" --- # But some characters in books are really real--Jane… ![“But some characters in books are really real--Jane Austen's are; and I know those five Bennets at the opening of Pride and Prejudice, simply waiting to raven the young men at Netherfield Park, are not giving one thought to the real facts of marriage.” quote by Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/dodie-smith-1724_austen_but-some-characters-in-books-are-really_1989028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/dodie-smith-1724_austen_but-some-characters-in-books-are-really_1989028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/dodie-smith-1724_austen_but-some-characters-in-books-are-really_1989028.jpg) > “But some characters in books are really real--Jane Austen's are; and I know those five Bennets at the opening of Pride and Prejudice, simply waiting to raven the young men at Netherfield Park, are not giving one thought to the real facts of marriage.” [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how fictional characters can feel lifelike, yet their actions may ignore practical realities like marriage. **In simple terms:** Fiction feels real but can ignore real life. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between story and reality. Themes fiction realism marriage character perception Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type analytical literary observational When to use this quote - reading literature - teaching literature - writing characters Key Concepts literary analysis social expectations romantic idealism Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance romantic idealism with real expectations? - What does this say about our own expectations of relationships? A Different Perspective Characters may be idealized, overlooking practical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Pride And Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride-and-prejudice/) [Ravens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ravens/) [Young men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-men/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [I haven't any right to criticize books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticize Jane Austen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-haven-t-any-right-to-criticize-books-and-i-don-t-do-it-except-when/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“What is your favorite book?” One of Jane’s dark eyebrows lifted. “Rather like choosing a favorite shade of blue, my lady. Each is beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisa-braden/what-is-your-favorite-book-one-of-jane-s-dark-eyebrows-lifted-rather/) [Elisa Braden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisa-braden/) > [I had not seen "Pride and Prejudice," till I read that sentence of yours, and then I got the book. And what did I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-had-not-seen-pride-and-prejudice-till-i-read-that-sentence-of-yours/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“She longed to know what at the moment was passing in his mind, in what manner he thought of her, and whether, in defiance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/she-longed-to-know-what-at-the-moment-was-passing-in-his-mind-in-what/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I've never read 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,' although I certainly know what that is. And what I love about that concept is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/i-ve-never-read-pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies-although-i-certainly/) [Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/) > [“As for Elizabeth Bennet, our chief reason for accepting her point of view as a reflection of her author's is the impression that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/as-for-elizabeth-bennet-our-chief-reason-for-accepting-her-point-of/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [How is it that, a full two centuries after Jane Austen finished her manuscript, we come to the world of Pride and Prejudice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/how-is-it-that-a-full-two-centuries-after-jane-austen-finished-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [ I read "Pride and Prejudice" \[by Jane Austen\]. I was gobsmacked by it - it's so funny and so modern. Unbelievable. You don't expect… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/i-read-pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen-i-was-gobsmacked-by-it-it-s/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [I liked the idea of giving Eligible a feminist flavor. While I do think that in Pride and Prejudice, Liz Bennet is very bold,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-liked-the-idea-of-giving-eligible-a-feminist-flavor-while-i-do/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [“Pride and Prejudice opens with one of the most famous sentences ever written: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-reef/pride-and-prejudice-opens-with-one-of-the-most-famous-sentences-ever/) Catherine Reef > [“And yet there is something defensible in these weaknesses: Elizabeth proves herself a thoughtful judge of character in most instances, while Darcy is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-yet-there-is-something-defensible-in-these-weaknesses-elizabeth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's absurd to think of 'Pride and Prejudice,' this classic, beloved book, beset with a zombie uprising. The goal is to make you suspend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/it-s-absurd-to-think-of-pride-and-prejudice-this-classic-beloved-book/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) > [ For \[Jane Austen and the readers of Pride and Prejudice\], as for Mr. Darcy, \[Elizabeth Bennett's\] solitary walks express the independence that literally takes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-jane-austen-and-the-readers-of-pride-and-prejudice-as-for-mr/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [But if you read Jane Austen, you know that she had a wicked sense of humor. Not only was she funny, but her early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/but-if-you-read-jane-austen-you-know-that-she-had-a-wicked-sense-of/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) ## More by Dodie Smith > [“I glanced through another page in case I had missed something, and came to the description of Simon's face as he lay on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-glanced-through-another-page-in-case-i-had-missed-something-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“Now, paper and pencils," said Miss Marcy, clapping her hands. Writing paper is scarce in this house, and I had no intention of tearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/now-paper-and-pencils-said-miss-marcy-clapping-her-hands-writing/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/it-s-odd-how-different-a-house-feels-when-one-is-alone-in-it-it-makes/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [The tea was a comfort - and by that time I more than needed comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-tea-was-a-comfort-and-by-that-time-i-more-than-needed-comfort/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/like-many-other-much-loved-humans-they-believed-that-they-owned-their/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“And I suspect that, to the eyes of love, love shows. I knew about you as well as about myself, almost from the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-i-suspect-that-to-the-eyes-of-love-love-shows-i-knew-about-you-as/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“The thought was horrible, yet fascinating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-was-horrible-yet-fascinating/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“What I'd really hate would be the settled feeling, with nothing but happiness to look forward to. Of course no life is perfectly happy-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/what-i-d-really-hate-would-be-the-settled-feeling-with-nothing-but/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Truthfulness so often goes with ruthlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/truthfulness-so-often-goes-with-ruthlessness/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Am I really admitting that my sister is determined to marry a man she has only seen once and doesn't much like the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/am-i-really-admitting-that-my-sister-is-determined-to-marry-a-man-she/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“There are some people who always find beauty makes them feel sadder, which is a very mysterious thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/there-are-some-people-who-always-find-beauty-makes-them-feel-sadder/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [When things mean a very great deal to you, exciting anticipation just isn't safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/when-things-mean-a-very-great-deal-to-you-exciting-anticipation-just/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [I could marry the Devil himself if he had some money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-could-marry-the-devil-himself-if-he-had-some-money/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) [Explore all 211 Dodie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## 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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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. 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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": "But some characters in books are really real--Jane Austen's are; and I know those five Bennets at the opening of Pride and Prejudice, simply waiting to raven the young men at Netherfield Park, are not giving one thought to the real facts of marriage.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dodie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/but-some-characters-in-books-are-really-real-jane-austen-s-are-and-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/but-some-characters-in-books-are-really-real-jane-austen-s-are-and-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/dodie-smith-1724_austen_but-some-characters-in-books-are-really_1989028.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/dodie-smith-1724_austen_but-some-characters-in-books-are-really_1989028.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/dodie-smith-1724_austen_but-some-characters-in-books-are-really_1989028.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But some characters in books are really real--Jane Austen's are; and I know those five Bennets at the…” — Dodie Smith", "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": "Dodie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But some characters in books are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/but-some-characters-in-books-are-really-real-jane-austen-s-are-and-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/but-some-characters-in-books-are-really-real-jane-austen-s-are-and-i/#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 } } ] } ```