---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man who has been refused! How could I…"
description: "\"“A man who has been refused! How could I ever be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his love? Is there one among the sex, who would not protest agai..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/jane-austen-39_love_a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-e_654262.jpg"
---

#  A man who has been refused! How could I ever be foolish…

![“A man who has been refused! How could I ever be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his love? Is there one among the sex, who would not protest against such a weakness as a second proposal to the same woman? There is no indignity so abhorrent to their feelings!” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/jane-austen-39_love_a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-e_654262.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/jane-austen-39_love_a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-e_654262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/jane-austen-39_love_a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-e_654262.jpg)

> ““A man who has been refused! How could I ever be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his love? Is there one among the sex, who would not protest against such a weakness as a second proposal to the same woman? There is no indignity so abhorrent to their feelings!””

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A character worries about being rejected and the social stigma of a second proposal, fearing loss of dignity.

**In simple terms:** Fear of rejection and social judgment over a second romantic offer.

Key Takeaway

Address insecurities and communicate openly.

Themes

love social norms self‑esteem

Mood

reflective empathetic

Type

literary romantic

When to use this quote

- dating
- marriage negotiations
- self‑confidence building

Key Concepts

courtship etiquette gender expectations

Questions to Reflect On

- How do social expectations shape romantic decisions?
- What can reduce fear of rejection?

A Different Perspective

Societal pressure may suppress honest feelings.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Man Refused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-refused-2098399/) [Refused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refused/) [Refused Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refused-foolish-5226240/) [Renewal Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renewal-love-1857563/) [Woman Indignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-indignity-5226241/)

## Related quotes

> [“Till it does come, you know, we women never mean to have anybody. It is a thing of course among us, that every man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/till-it-does-come-you-know-we-women-never-mean-to-have-anybody-it-is/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [O that a lady, of one man refused, Should of another therefore be abused!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-that-a-lady-of-one-man-refused-should-of-another-therefore-be-abused/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“There was no point in feeling hurt simply because a man she refused to want didn't want her back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-milan/there-was-no-point-in-feeling-hurt-simply-because-a-man-she-refused/)

[Courtney Milan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-milan/)

> [“...as the old proverb said, The falling out of faithful friends is the renewal of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-lofts/as-the-old-proverb-said-the-falling-out-of-faithful-friends-is-the/)

[Norah Lofts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-lofts/)

> [The quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-racine/the-quarrels-of-lovers-are-the-renewal-of-love/)

[Jean Racine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-racine/)

> [Awareness born of love is the only force that can bring healing and renewal. Out of our love for another person, we become more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-welwood/awareness-born-of-love-is-the-only-force-that-can-bring-healing-and/)

[John Welwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-welwood/)

> [Lovers quarrels are the renewal of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/lovers-quarrels-are-the-renewal-of-love/)

[Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/)

> [If quarrelling be really the renewal of love, theirs had been renewed once a day at all events, and frequently much oftener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-riddell/if-quarrelling-be-really-the-renewal-of-love-theirs-had-been-renewed/)

[Charlotte Riddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-riddell/)

> [“Most unwilling was she to awaken from such a dream of felicity, to comprehend all the unhappy truths which attended the affair; and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/most-unwilling-was-she-to-awaken-from-such-a-dream-of-felicity-to/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“The candidate who billed himself as a billionaire—ten times over—refused even to invest his own money in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-candidate-who-billed-himself-as-a-billionaire-ten-times-over/)

[Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/)

> [I draw the line at some things. Some things I won't do for any amount of money. Like for instance, there's a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/i-draw-the-line-at-some-things-some-things-i-won-t-do-for-any-amount/)

[Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/)

> [“She refused to know love again. The thought of another heartbreak was far too much for her to bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-a-o-neal/she-refused-to-know-love-again-the-thought-of-another-heartbreak-was/)

[Terry a O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-a-o-neal/)

> [Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/every-champion-was-once-a-contender-that-refused-to-give-up/)

[Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/)

> [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [I had only two offers of marriage in my life, and I refused both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-helen-spence/i-had-only-two-offers-of-marriage-in-my-life-and-i-refused-both/)

[Catherine Helen Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-helen-spence/)

## More by Jane Austen

> [Let us have the luxury of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/let-us-have-the-luxury-of-silence/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“How earnestly did she then wish that her former opinions had been more reasonable, more moderate!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/how-earnestly-did-she-then-wish-that-her-former-opinions-had-been/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“it is very well worth-while to be tormented for two or three years of one's life, for the sake of being able to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-very-well-worth-while-to-be-tormented-for-two-or-three-years-of/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [ “Everybody is taken in at some period or another. \[...\] In marriage especially. \[...\] There is not one in a hundred of either sex,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/everybody-is-taken-in-at-some-period-or-another-in-marriage/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [She knew that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next: that with them, to wish was to hope, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/she-knew-that-what-marianne-and-her-mother-conjectured-one-moment/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“…for I look upon the Frasers to be about as unhappy as most other married people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/for-i-look-upon-the-frasers-to-be-about-as-unhappy-as-most-other/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“It raises my spleen more than any thing, to have the pretence of being asked, of being given a choice, and at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-raises-my-spleen-more-than-any-thing-to-have-the-pretence-of-being/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [her spirits wanted the solitude and silence which only numbers could give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/her-spirits-wanted-the-solitude-and-silence-which-only-numbers-could/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“But in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-in-such-cases-as-these-a-good-memory-is-unpardonable/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“...the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-pleasantness-of-an-employment-does-not-always-evince-its-propriety/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“I must tell you what you will not ask, though I may wish it unsaid the next moment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-must-tell-you-what-you-will-not-ask-though-i-may-wish-it-unsaid-the/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/lady-catherine-seemed-quite-astonished-at-not-receiving-a-direct/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“He had suffered, and he had learnt to think, two advantages that he had never known before…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/he-had-suffered-and-he-had-learnt-to-think-two-advantages-that-he-had/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [“Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Eliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/vanity-was-the-beginning-and-the-end-of-sir-walter-eliot-s-character/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

[Explore all 2,013 Jane Austen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

## More Love quotes

> [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/)

[John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [I love going to Columbia, Missouri. That is a really underrated campus. It shocked me when I went there because I really didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-love-going-to-columbia-missouri-that-is-a-really-underrated-campus/)

[Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/)

[H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/)

> [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/)

[Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/)

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [“To be loved by a man, truly loved, made a woman feel as if she could burst. Of course, Lia was strong and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/to-be-loved-by-a-man-truly-loved-made-a-woman-feel-as-if-she-could/)

[Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/)

> [So when you take those tears, don't look to see I'm alright. …\*Seal - Violet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/so-when-you-take-those-tears-don-t-look-to-see-i-m-alright-seal-violet/)

[Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/)

[Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/)

> [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/)

[George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/)

[Browse all 233,035 Love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“A man who has been refused! How could I ever be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his love? Is there one among the sex, who would not protest against such a weakness as a second proposal to the same woman? There is no indignity so abhorrent to their feelings!”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jane Austen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-ever-be-foolish-enough-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Love"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-ever-be-foolish-enough-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/jane-austen-39_love_a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-e_654262.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/jane-austen-39_love_a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-e_654262.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/jane-austen-39_love_a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-e_654262.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A man who has been refused! How could I ever be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his love? Is there one…” — Jane Austen",
                "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": "Jane Austen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“A man who has been refused!...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-ever-be-foolish-enough-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-man-who-has-been-refused-how-could-i-ever-be-foolish-enough-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
