Conduct Quote by Jane Austen
““for when people are determined on a mode of conduct which they know to be wrong, they feel injured by the expectation of any thing better from them.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Persuasion, Jane Austen, 1817
When people knowingly act against their morals, they feel hurt by expectations of better behavior.
In simple terms: Wrong actions cause inner pain when expected to improve.
Key Takeaway
Align actions with personal ethics.
Themes
morality
self-deception
expectation
psychology
integrity
Mood
critical
contemplative
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal decisions
- workplace ethics
- relationships
- public conduct
Key Concepts
cognitive dissonance
self‑respect
social pressure
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do you rationalize unethical actions?
- What standards guide your behavior?
A Different Perspective
Societal pressure can complicate moral choices.
![“Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury. And the sense of injury depends on the feeling that a legitimate claim has been denied. The more claims on life, therefore, that [they]... make, the more often [they] will feel injured and, as a result, ill-tempered.” quote by C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0b/c-s-lewis-121_blame_men-are-not-angered-by-mere-misfortune-b_1957926.jpg)
![“Everybody is taken in at some period or another. [...] In marriage especially. [...] There is not one in a hundred of either sex, who is not taken in when they marry. Look where I will, I see that it is so; and I feel that it must be so, when I consider that it is, of all transactions, the one in…” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/37a/jane-austen-39_marriage_everybody-is-taken-in-at-some-period-or_7175.jpg)
