--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whom are you going to dance with?' asked…" description: "\"Whom are you going to dance with?' asked Mr. Knightley. She hesitated a moment and then replied, 'With you, if you will ask me.' Will you?' said he, of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/jane-austen-39_ask-me_whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-m_3122613.jpg" --- # Whom are you going to dance with?' asked Mr. Knightley… ![“Whom are you going to dance with?' asked Mr. Knightley. She hesitated a moment and then replied, 'With you, if you will ask me.' Will you?' said he, offering his hand. Indeed I will. You have shown that you can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all…” quote by Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/jane-austen-39_ask-me_whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-m_3122613.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/jane-austen-39_ask-me_whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-m_3122613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/jane-austen-39_ask-me_whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-m_3122613.jpg) > “Whom are you going to dance with?' asked Mr. Knightley. She hesitated a moment and then replied, 'With you, if you will ask me.' Will you?' said he, offering his hand. Indeed I will. You have shown that you can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all improper.' Brother and sister! no, indeed.” [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 invites a potential partner to dance, revealing mutual affection and breaking social formality. **In simple terms:** A dance invitation shows love and challenges sibling-like distance. Key Takeaway Accept invitations that reveal deeper feelings. Themes romance social norms courtship Mood hopeful playful Type literary dialogue When to use this quote - ballroom events - first dates - social gatherings - family gatherings Key Concepts gender roles intimacy personal courage Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance propriety with genuine affection? - What risks are worth taking for love? A Different Perspective May be misread as inappropriate in conservative settings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brother and sister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother-and-sister/) [Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherhood/) [Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Mr knightley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mr-knightley/) [Sister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sister/) [Sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sisters/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do if he chooses, and that is his duty; not by manoeuvring and finessing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-is-one-thing-emma-which-a-man-can-always-do-if-he-chooses-and/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“After all, she understood people so well, as well as Fredrick understood his library.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-holman/after-all-she-understood-people-so-well-as-well-as-fredrick/) [Sarah Holman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-holman/) > [“I am Emma Woodhouse. I feel for her, of her and in her. I have a different sort of snobbism, but I understand her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-am-emma-woodhouse-i-feel-for-her-of-her-and-in-her-i-have-a/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“I don't approve of surprises. The pleasure is never enhanced and the inconvenience is considerable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-knightley/i-don-t-approve-of-surprises-the-pleasure-is-never-enhanced-and-the/) George Knightley > [“If you are ever angry at him, threaten to do something to one of his books, as calling him Fred does nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-holman/if-you-are-ever-angry-at-him-threaten-to-do-something-to-one-of-his/) [Sarah Holman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-holman/) > [“Badly done, Emma!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/badly-done-emma/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Marry me. Marry me, my wonderful, darling friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/marry-me-marry-me-my-wonderful-darling-friend/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Mr. Knightley seemed to be trying not to smile; and succeeded without difficulty, upon Mrs. Elton's beginning to talk to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/mr-knightley-seemed-to-be-trying-not-to-smile-and-succeeded-without/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Mr. Knightley, if I have not spoken, it is because I am afraid I will awaken myself from this dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/mr-knightley-if-i-have-not-spoken-it-is-because-i-am-afraid-i-will/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Better be without sense than misapply it as you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/better-be-without-sense-than-misapply-it-as-you-do/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [He rose, offering his hand to Evanlyn to assist her. Even though she was lithe and athletic as a cat, she took it, enjoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/he-rose-offering-his-hand-to-evanlyn-to-assist-her-even-though-she/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [“I'd blow someone for a valium," I said in Jacob's ear. "Maybe he's got one... but try offering a hand-job first so you retain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-castillo-price/i-d-blow-someone-for-a-valium-i-said-in-jacob-s-ear-maybe-he-s-got/) [Jordan Castillo Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-castillo-price/) > [Offering a hand up is not a hand-out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-barton/offering-a-hand-up-is-not-a-hand-out/) [Clara Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-barton/) > [“Wanna dance?" she asked. "I think they're playing our song." "Oh yeah? What's that?" "The hokey-pokey." "No shit." "Sure," she said, "don't you hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/wanna-dance-she-asked-i-think-they-re-playing-our-song-oh-yeah-what-s/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [“His arm was warm against hers. "I always wanted to do the Henley." "Can you be serious for a second?" "Dance with me." "What?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/his-arm-was-warm-against-hers-i-always-wanted-to-do-the-henley-can/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) ## 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 Ask me quotes > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-perry/i-d-always-have-grease-in-at-least-two-places-in-case-the-umpires/) [Gaylord Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-perry/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [I am a conservative type of person, so sometimes when I'm chilling with myself, people always come ask me, 'What's wrong with you? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-wonder/i-am-a-conservative-type-of-person-so-sometimes-when-i-m-chilling/) [Wayne Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-wonder/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [My identity shifted when I got into # recovery . That's who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/my-identity-shifted-when-i-got-into-recovery-that-s-who-i-am-now-and/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [If you ask me to tell you anything about the nature of what lies beyond the phaneron… my answer is “How should I know?”……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/if-you-ask-me-to-tell-you-anything-about-the-nature-of-what-lies/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [When a young artist asks me a question, I want to do what I can to give them an answer if I have it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tait/when-a-young-artist-asks-me-a-question-i-want-to-do-what-i-can-to/) [Michael Tait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tait/) > [I've never asked a girl out in my life, they have to ask me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-ve-never-asked-a-girl-out-in-my-life-they-have-to-ask-me/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I would do almost anything Tina Fey asks me to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/i-would-do-almost-anything-tina-fey-asks-me-to-do/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [Space Jam is my favorite movie. Don't ask me why, it just is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/space-jam-is-my-favorite-movie-don-t-ask-me-why-it-just-is/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [If I had lost a leg, I would tell them, instead of a boy, no one would ever ask me if I was 'over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/if-i-had-lost-a-leg-i-would-tell-them-instead-of-a-boy-no-one-would/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [It is very hard to tell when I started to be a spiritual teacher. There was a time when occasionally somebody would come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/it-is-very-hard-to-tell-when-i-started-to-be-a-spiritual-teacher/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) Browse all 1,282 Ask me quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whom are you going to dance with?' asked Mr. Knightley. She hesitated a moment and then replied, 'With you, if you will ask me.' Will you?' said he, offering his hand. Indeed I will. You have shown that you can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all improper.' Brother and sister! no, indeed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-mr-knightley-she-hesitated-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ask me" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-mr-knightley-she-hesitated-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/jane-austen-39_ask-me_whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-m_3122613.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/jane-austen-39_ask-me_whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-m_3122613.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/jane-austen-39_ask-me_whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-m_3122613.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whom are you going to dance with?' asked Mr. Knightley. She hesitated a moment and then replied, 'With you…” — 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": "Whom are you going to dance...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-mr-knightley-she-hesitated-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/whom-are-you-going-to-dance-with-asked-mr-knightley-she-hesitated-a/#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 } } ] } ```