Bath Quote by Jane Austen
““He hoped she might make some amends for the many very plain faces he was continually passing in the streets. The worst of Bath was the number of its plain women. He did not mean to say there were not pretty women, but the number of the plain was out of all proportion. He had frequently observed, as he walked, that one handsome face would be followed by thirty, or five-and-thirty frights; and once, as he had stood in a shop on Bond street, he had counted eighty-seven women go by, without there being a tolerable face among them. ... But still, there certainly were a dreadful multitude of ugly women in Bath; and as for the men! they were infinitely worse. Such scarecrows as the streets were full of!””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Northanger Abbey, 1817
He laments the abundance of ordinary-looking women and worse men in Bath, reflecting superficial judgments of beauty.
In simple terms: Too many plain faces, men even worse.
Key Takeaway
Look beyond appearances.
Themes
beauty
society
judgment
Mood
critical
observational
Type
literary
social commentary
When to use this quote
- social gatherings
- dating
- urban life
- historical context
Key Concepts
social critique
gender norms
class perception
Questions to Reflect On
- How do societal standards shape our perception of beauty?
- Can we value character over looks?
A Different Perspective
Judgments are shallow and ignore inner worth.
![“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)
