Books Quote by Jane Austen
““Yes, novels; for I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom, so common with novel-writers, of degrading, by their contemptuous censure, the very performances to the number of which they are themselves adding; joining with their greatest enemies in bestowing the harshest epithets on such works, and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who, if she accidentally take up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust. Alas! if the heroine of one novel be not patronised by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard? I cannot approve of it. Let us leave it to the reviewers to abuse such effusions of fancy at their leisure, and over every new novel to talk in threadbare strains of the trash with which the press now groans. Let us not desert one another- we are an injured body.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Sense and Sensibility, 1811
Austen criticizes the tendency to harshly judge novels and the lack of mutual support among writers, urging solidarity instead of petty criticism.
In simple terms: She warns against harsh criticism and calls for writers to support each other.
Key Takeaway
Encourage constructive dialogue among authors.
Themes
literary criticism
solidarity
authorial community
Mood
reflective
concerned
Type
analytical
advisory
When to use this quote
- book clubs
- literary journals
- author workshops
- publishing houses
- reading groups
Key Concepts
censorship
peer review
creative collaboration
Questions to Reflect On
- How can writers foster supportive critique?
- What role does mutual respect play in literary circles?
A Different Perspective
Criticism can stifle creativity if not balanced with support.
![“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)
