--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm ill qualified to recommend myself to…" description: "\"“I'm ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers.\" Mr. Darcy”\" — Jane Austen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/jane-austen-39_quote_i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to_2074173.jpg" --- # I'm ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers." Mr… ![“I'm ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers." Mr. Darcy” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/jane-austen-39_quote_i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to_2074173.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/jane-austen-39_quote_i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to_2074173.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/jane-austen-39_quote_i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to_2074173.jpg) > ““I'm ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers." Mr. Darcy”” [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. The speaker feels unqualified to self‑recommend, highlighting modesty and social propriety. **In simple terms:** I’m not fit to promote myself. Key Takeaway Embrace humility in introductions. Themes modesty social etiquette self‑perception Mood formal reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - dating introductions - job interviews - networking events Key Concepts Victorian norms self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - How does humility balance with self‑advocacy? - When is self‑promotion appropriate? A Different Perspective Excessive modesty can hinder opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ill Qualified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill-qualified-4018330/) [Qualified Recommend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualified-recommend-4018329/) [Recommend Strangers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recommend-strangers-4018327/) [Strangers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangers/) [Strangers Mr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangers-mr-4018328/) ## Related quotes > [If you're becoming weary and disillusioned with Australian values, Judeo-Christian values or Western civilisation, I recommend strangers - they're such a glorious, redeeming wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/if-you-re-becoming-weary-and-disillusioned-with-australian-values/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-could-have-never-been-two-hearts-so-open-no-tastes-so-similar/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Now they were as strangers; nay worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/now-they-were-as-strangers-nay-worse-than-strangers-for-they-could/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“I sometimes think people can see that I’m defective, that there’s nothing there. Behind the job and clothes and makeup there’s nothing to know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-sometimes-think-people-can-see-that-i-m-defective-that-there-s/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [One of the things that I miss about Canada is that even the strangers, you have an immediate rapport, there's just an understanding that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/one-of-the-things-that-i-miss-about-canada-is-that-even-the-strangers/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [It’s sad when friends become enemies. But what’s even worse is when they become strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/it-s-sad-when-friends-become-enemies-but-what-s-even-worse-is-when/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [“I saw strangers’ faces passing me, a brief sympathetic glance, a wolf whistle from a car at the soaking-wet girl. No help was to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-saw-strangers-faces-passing-me-a-brief-sympathetic-glance-a-wolf/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Sometimes you have to get to know someone really well to realize you're really strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-tyler-moore/sometimes-you-have-to-get-to-know-someone-really-well-to-realize-you/) [Mary Tyler Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-tyler-moore/) > [Has this ever happened to you? You run into a friend you haven't spoken to in a while. You look at each other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imynatot/has-this-ever-happened-to-you-you-run-into-a-friend-you-haven-t/) [IMynatot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imynatot/) > [The Internet lets thousands of total strangers collaborate to produce a truly hivelike result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-internet-lets-thousands-of-total-strangers-collaborate-to-produce/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [It's amazing when strangers become friends but it's so sad, when friends become strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amazing-when-strangers-become-friends-but-it-s-so-sad-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) ## 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 Strangers quotes > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/) [Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/) > [It's amazing when strangers become friends but it's so sad, when friends become strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amazing-when-strangers-become-friends-but-it-s-so-sad-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Internet lets thousands of total strangers collaborate to produce a truly hivelike result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-internet-lets-thousands-of-total-strangers-collaborate-to-produce/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [Has this ever happened to you? You run into a friend you haven't spoken to in a while. You look at each other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imynatot/has-this-ever-happened-to-you-you-run-into-a-friend-you-haven-t/) [IMynatot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imynatot/) > [Sometimes you have to get to know someone really well to realize you're really strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-tyler-moore/sometimes-you-have-to-get-to-know-someone-really-well-to-realize-you/) [Mary Tyler Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-tyler-moore/) > [“I saw strangers’ faces passing me, a brief sympathetic glance, a wolf whistle from a car at the soaking-wet girl. No help was to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-saw-strangers-faces-passing-me-a-brief-sympathetic-glance-a-wolf/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [It’s sad when friends become enemies. But what’s even worse is when they become strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/it-s-sad-when-friends-become-enemies-but-what-s-even-worse-is-when/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [One of the things that I miss about Canada is that even the strangers, you have an immediate rapport, there's just an understanding that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/one-of-the-things-that-i-miss-about-canada-is-that-even-the-strangers/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [“I sometimes think people can see that I’m defective, that there’s nothing there. Behind the job and clothes and makeup there’s nothing to know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-sometimes-think-people-can-see-that-i-m-defective-that-there-s/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [“Our bodies aren't strangers,' he said, his voice ragged. 'Our spirits aren't strangers'. He held her face in his hands. 'Tell me what part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/our-bodies-aren-t-strangers-he-said-his-voice-ragged-our-spirits-aren/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [“Sympathy from strangers can be ruinous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/sympathy-from-strangers-can-be-ruinous/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I don't accept gifts from perfect strangers - but then, nobody's perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/i-don-t-accept-gifts-from-perfect-strangers-but-then-nobody-s-perfect/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) [Browse all 1,076 Strangers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'm ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers.\" Mr. Darcy”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to-strangers-mr-darcy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Strangers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to-strangers-mr-darcy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/jane-austen-39_quote_i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to_2074173.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/jane-austen-39_quote_i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to_2074173.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2d/jane-austen-39_quote_i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to_2074173.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers.\" Mr. Darcy” — 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": "“I'm ill qualified to recommend myself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to-strangers-mr-darcy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-m-ill-qualified-to-recommend-myself-to-strangers-mr-darcy/#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 } } ] } ```