--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reading Austen is a frickin' mine field." description: "\"“Reading Austen is a frickin' mine field.”\" — Karen Joy Fowler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/karen-joy-fowler-3727_austen_reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field-1_1500827.png" --- # Reading Austen is a frickin' mine field. ![“Reading Austen is a frickin' mine field.” quote by Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/karen-joy-fowler-3727_austen_reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field-1_1500827.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/karen-joy-fowler-3727_austen_reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field-1_1500827.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/karen-joy-fowler-3727_austen_reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field-1_1500827.png) > ““Reading Austen is a frickin' mine field.”” [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading Austen is likened to navigating a complex, potentially hazardous terrain, suggesting it requires careful, nuanced engagement. **In simple terms:** Reading Austen is challenging. Key Takeaway Approach Austen with care. Themes literature complexity analysis Mood curious cautious Type literary analytical When to use this quote - academic study - book clubs - personal reading Key Concepts narrative structure social critique historical context Questions to Reflect On - What makes Austen challenging? - How can you navigate literary 'mine fields'? A Different Perspective May be intimidating for beginners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen/) [Austen Frickin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen-frickin-5501575/) [Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/field/) [Frickin Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frickin-field-5501577/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-austen-5501576/) ## Related quotes > [It was the marriage that was important; Jane Austen rarely even bothered to write about the wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/it-was-the-marriage-that-was-important-jane-austen-rarely-even/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [Allegra's Austen wrote about the impact of financial need on the intimate lives of women. If she'd worked in a bookstore, Allegra would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/allegra-s-austen-wrote-about-the-impact-of-financial-need-on-the/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [Each of us has a private Austen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/each-of-us-has-a-private-austen/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [I grew up on Jane Austen novels and was a massive literature fanatic when I was a kid - I read everything I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-king/i-grew-up-on-jane-austen-novels-and-was-a-massive-literature-fanatic/) [Georgia King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-king/) > [“Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/gratitude-not-merely-for-having-once-loved-her-but-for-loving-her/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“You know, somewhere a Jane Austen angel just lost her wings over you saying that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-van/you-know-somewhere-a-jane-austen-angel-just-lost-her-wings-over-you/) [Nichole Van](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-van/) > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [I'm kind of a mash-up of taste - Graham Greene and Jane Austen; W.G. Sebald and Alice Munro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-m-kind-of-a-mash-up-of-taste-graham-greene-and-jane-austen-w-g/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [ “\[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [Had Elizabeth Bennet known how wildly Darcy's heart beat for her, 'Pride and Prejudice' would barely have made it into a short story. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-has-been-suggested-that-tiptree-is-female-a-theory-that-i-find/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“The celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/the-celestial-brightness-of-pride-and-prejudice-is-unequalled-even-in/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/look-at-jane-austen-her-characters-derive-in-a-reasonably-straight/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) ## More by Karen Joy Fowler > [In general, librarians enjoyed special requests. A reference librarian is someone who likes the chase. When librarians read for pleasure, they often pick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/in-general-librarians-enjoyed-special-requests-a-reference-librarian/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [The sunset you see is always better than the one you don’t. More stars are always better than less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-sunset-you-see-is-always-better-than-the-one-you-don-t-more-stars/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“Je zou maar slecht over hem gaan denken en dat wil ik niet, want dat is mijn taak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/je-zou-maar-slecht-over-hem-gaan-denken-en-dat-wil-ik-niet-want-dat/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [I'm unclear on the definition of person the courts have been using. Something that sieves out dolphins but lets corporations slide on through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-m-unclear-on-the-definition-of-person-the-courts-have-been-using/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“The secret to a good life,” he told me once, “is to bring your A game to everything you do. Even if all you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-secret-to-a-good-life-he-told-me-once-is-to-bring-your-a-game-to/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“So many problems, however infinitely varied they first appear, turn out to be matters of money. I can't tell you how much this offends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/so-many-problems-however-infinitely-varied-they-first-appear-turn-out/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“The world runs,” Lowell said, “on the fuel of this endless, fathomless misery. People know it, but they don’t mind what they don’t see.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-world-runs-lowell-said-on-the-fuel-of-this-endless-fathomless/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“I didn't want a world in which I had to choose between blind human babies and tortured monkey ones. To be frank, that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-didn-t-want-a-world-in-which-i-had-to-choose-between-blind-human/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“They never reminisced about the time they had to drive halfway back to Indianapolis because I’d left Dexter Poindexter, my terry-cloth penguin (threadbare, ravaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/they-never-reminisced-about-the-time-they-had-to-drive-halfway-back/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [I once broke up with a boy because he wrote me an awful poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-once-broke-up-with-a-boy-because-he-wrote-me-an-awful-poem/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“Here is my objection to submarines and space travel: not enough windows. What difference does it make if you're in outer space or underwater,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/here-is-my-objection-to-submarines-and-space-travel-not-enough/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [. . . strange and fantastic things really happen. During a rainstorm in Australia, fish fall from the sky; several Southern states consider legislation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/strange-and-fantastic-things-really-happen-during-a-rainstorm-in/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [Every mother can easily imagine losing a child. Motherhood is always half loss anyway. The three-year-old is lost at five, the five-year-old at nine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/every-mother-can-easily-imagine-losing-a-child-motherhood-is-always/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“...the world runs on the fuel of an endless, fathomless animal misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-world-runs-on-the-fuel-of-an-endless-fathomless-animal-misery/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“He envied the bark, which had been, in the course of one lifetime, both forest and fire. One endured; one destroyed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/he-envied-the-bark-which-had-been-in-the-course-of-one-lifetime-both/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) [Explore all 122 Karen Joy Fowler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) ## More Austen quotes > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/look-at-jane-austen-her-characters-derive-in-a-reasonably-straight/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [“The celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/the-celestial-brightness-of-pride-and-prejudice-is-unequalled-even-in/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-has-been-suggested-that-tiptree-is-female-a-theory-that-i-find/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Had Elizabeth Bennet known how wildly Darcy's heart beat for her, 'Pride and Prejudice' would barely have made it into a short story. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [ “\[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [I'm kind of a mash-up of taste - Graham Greene and Jane Austen; W.G. Sebald and Alice Munro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-m-kind-of-a-mash-up-of-taste-graham-greene-and-jane-austen-w-g/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“You know, somewhere a Jane Austen angel just lost her wings over you saying that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-van/you-know-somewhere-a-jane-austen-angel-just-lost-her-wings-over-you/) [Nichole Van](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-van/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/gratitude-not-merely-for-having-once-loved-her-but-for-loving-her/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I grew up on Jane Austen novels and was a massive literature fanatic when I was a kid - I read everything I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-king/i-grew-up-on-jane-austen-novels-and-was-a-massive-literature-fanatic/) [Georgia King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-king/) > [“I don't care a whit for Society. I think people should only marry someone who can offer them some bit of affection. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-st-george/i-don-t-care-a-whit-for-society-i-think-people-should-only-marry/) [Harper St. George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-st-george/) > [“Does everybody know everything in this town!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishnavi-nair-k/does-everybody-know-everything-in-this-town/) [Vaishnavi Nair K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishnavi-nair-k/) > [“People don't say what they mean very often. You have to read between the lines of their behavior, of what they say, to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/people-don-t-say-what-they-mean-very-often-you-have-to-read-between/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) [Browse all 292 Austen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Reading Austen is a frickin' mine field.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen Joy Fowler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/karen-joy-fowler-3727_austen_reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field-1_1500827.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/karen-joy-fowler-3727_austen_reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field-1_1500827.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fe/karen-joy-fowler-3727_austen_reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field-1_1500827.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reading Austen is a frickin' mine field.” — Karen Joy Fowler", "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": "Karen Joy Fowler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Reading Austen is a frickin' mine...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/reading-austen-is-a-frickin-mine-field/#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 } } ] } ```