--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will not adopt that ungenerous and…" description: "\"I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel writers, of degrading by their contemptuous censure the very performances, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/jane-austen-39_books_i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-imp_2097034.jpg" --- # I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so… ![“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…” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/jane-austen-39_books_i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-imp_2097034.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/jane-austen-39_books_i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-imp_2097034.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/jane-austen-39_books_i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-imp_2097034.jpg) > “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 leaves with disgust.” [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. Austen criticizes the habit of reviewers who harshly condemn novels, often aligning with the work’s enemies and denying readers, especially heroines, the chance to engage with them. **In simple terms:** Critics sometimes unfairly attack novels, preventing readers from appreciating them. Key Takeaway Consider the impact of criticism on literary reception. Themes literary criticism authorial intent reception gender novel reading Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type analytical literary When to use this quote - book clubs - academic courses - publishing reviews - author workshops Key Concepts Aesthetic judgment power dynamics censorship Questions to Reflect On - How does harsh criticism affect a work’s legacy? - Should readers seek works despite negative reviews? A Different Perspective Criticism can also highlight valuable flaws and guide improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Censure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censure/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Contemptuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemptuous/) [Contemptuous Censure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemptuous-censure-4172072/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Degrading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrading/) [Degrading Contemptuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrading-contemptuous-4172071/) [Disgusting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgusting/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Epithet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epithet/) [Heroines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroines/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Impolitic Custom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impolitic-custom-4172069/) [Insipid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insipid/) [Joining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joining/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-it/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Ungenerous Impolitic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ungenerous-impolitic-4172070/) [Writers Degrading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-degrading-4172068/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/yes-novels-for-i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-impolitic-custom/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of revolutionary; and it is they alone who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/in-art-all-who-have-done-something-other-than-their-predecessors-have/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [The use of 'conspiracy theory' as a derogatory - as an epithet almost - is something the propagandists have perfected over the decades, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sanders/the-use-of-conspiracy-theory-as-a-derogatory-as-an-epithet-almost-is/) [Chris Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sanders/) > [“Fuck a zombie!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/fuck-a-zombie/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [The typical atheist rebels against God as a teenager rebels against his parents. 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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 Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 leaves with disgust.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-impolitic-custom-so-common-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-impolitic-custom-so-common-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/jane-austen-39_books_i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-imp_2097034.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/jane-austen-39_books_i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-imp_2097034.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/jane-austen-39_books_i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-imp_2097034.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel writers, of degrading by their…” — 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 will not adopt that ungenerous...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-impolitic-custom-so-common-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-will-not-adopt-that-ungenerous-and-impolitic-custom-so-common-with/#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 } } ] } ```