--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After all, what's good enough for Austen…" description: "\"After all, what's good enough for Austen ought to be good enough for anyone.\" — Mary Ann Shaffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/mary-ann-shaffer-8826_austen_after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen_1530250.jpg" --- # After all, what's good enough for Austen ought to be good… ![“After all, what's good enough for Austen ought to be good enough for anyone.” quote by Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/mary-ann-shaffer-8826_austen_after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen_1530250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/mary-ann-shaffer-8826_austen_after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen_1530250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/mary-ann-shaffer-8826_austen_after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen_1530250.jpg) > “After all, what's good enough for Austen ought to be good enough for anyone.” [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Austen's standards for good literature should be considered universal for all readers. **In simple terms:** Austen’s quality is universally applicable. Key Takeaway Value timeless literary standards. Themes literature quality universality Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - book clubs - publishing Key Concepts classic novels reading standards Questions to Reflect On - Do you agree with Austen’s criteria? - How do you define “good” literature? A Different Perspective Taste is subjective; not all agree on standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-enough/) ## Related quotes > [All my life I thought that the story was over when the hero and heroine were safely engaged -- after all, what's good enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/all-my-life-i-thought-that-the-story-was-over-when-the-hero-and-2/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [What is a good enough principle for an American citizen ought to be good enough for the working man to follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-a-good-enough-principle-for-an-american-citizen-ought-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is not enough for the phrases to be good., what you make with them ought to be good too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/it-is-not-enough-for-the-phrases-to-be-good-what-you-make-with-them/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Liars ought to have good memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-sydney-logan/liars-ought-to-have-good-memories/) Algernon Sydney Logan > [If 10 percent is good enough for the Lord, it ought to be good enough for Uncle Sam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-broun/if-10-percent-is-good-enough-for-the-lord-it-ought-to-be-good-enough/) [Paul Broun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-broun/) > [A liar did ought to have a good memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-thompson/a-liar-did-ought-to-have-a-good-memory/) [Flora Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-thompson/) > [For life its like a good accent one ought for a good language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiwuuwa-calorus-jos16/for-life-its-like-a-good-accent-one-ought-for-a-good-language/) Kiwuuwa Calorus Jos16 > [I am not as good as I ought to be. I am not as good as I want to be. I am not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/i-am-not-as-good-as-i-ought-to-be-i-am-not-as-good-as-i-want-to-be-i/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [A liar ought to have a good memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/a-liar-ought-to-have-a-good-memory/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Therefore the good man ought to be a lover of self, since he will then both benefit himself by acting nobly and aid his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/therefore-the-good-man-ought-to-be-a-lover-of-self-since-he-will-then/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!” “It ought to be good,” he replied, “it has been the work of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/what-a-delightful-library-you-have-at-pemberley-mr-darcy-it-ought-to/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-ought-to-do-good-to-others-as-simply-as-a-horse-runs-or-a-bee/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“But that doesn’t seem enough. It’s not enough for the phrases to be good; what you make with them ought to be good too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/but-that-doesn-t-seem-enough-it-s-not-enough-for-the-phrases-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [People should think less about what they ought to do and more about what they ought to be. If only their being were good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/people-should-think-less-about-what-they-ought-to-do-and-more-about/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [When dreams come true in reality they never feel the same as when you imagine them, and you know what that means? It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/when-dreams-come-true-in-reality-they-never-feel-the-same-as-when-you/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) ## More by Mary Ann Shaffer > [Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/reading-good-books-ruins-you-for-enjoying-bad-books/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [Now that I think about it, maybe he is a werewolf. I can picture him lunging over the moors in hot pursuit of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/now-that-i-think-about-it-maybe-he-is-a-werewolf-i-can-picture-him/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [Miss X has always been a ditherer -- she was a ten month baby and has not improved in any material way since then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/miss-x-has-always-been-a-ditherer-she-was-a-ten-month-baby-and-has/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [I don't want to be married just to be married. I can't think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/i-don-t-want-to-be-married-just-to-be-married-i-can-t-think-of/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [“This profusion of questions, exclamations, and tales is the new version of the Society. Its members are spread all over the world, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/this-profusion-of-questions-exclamations-and-tales-is-the-new-version/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [“I kept trying to explain and he kept shouting until I began to cry from frustration. Then he felt remorseful, which was so unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/i-kept-trying-to-explain-and-he-kept-shouting-until-i-began-to-cry/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [“A sunny nature? A light heart? I have never been so insulted. Light-hearted is a short step from witless in my book. A cackling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/a-sunny-nature-a-light-heart-i-have-never-been-so-insulted-light/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [“I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/i-can-t-think-of-anything-lonelier-than-spending-the-rest-of-my-life/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [People don't know how chickens can turn on you, but they can -- just like mad dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/people-don-t-know-how-chickens-can-turn-on-you-but-they-can-just-like/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [Treat a dog right and he'll treat you right - he'll keep you company, be your friend, never ask you no questions. 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She stopped in on her way to pick up Pride and Prejudice and to berate me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/what-on-earth-did-you-say-to-isola-she-stopped-in-on-her-way-to-pick/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [“He didn't say much at our first meeting - nor at any of our meetings since, come to think of it - but left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/he-didn-t-say-much-at-our-first-meeting-nor-at-any-of-our-meetings/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [Those times, I tried to think of something happy, something I'd liked - but not something I loved, for that made it worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/those-times-i-tried-to-think-of-something-happy-something-i-d-liked/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [Because there is nothing I would rather do than rummage through bookshops, I went at once to Hastings & Sons Bookshop upon receiving your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/because-there-is-nothing-i-would-rather-do-than-rummage-through/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) [Explore all 73 Mary Ann Shaffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) ## More Austen quotes > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. 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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 > [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 > [“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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After all, what's good enough for Austen ought to be good enough for anyone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ann Shaffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen-ought-to-be-good-enough-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen-ought-to-be-good-enough-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/mary-ann-shaffer-8826_austen_after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen_1530250.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/mary-ann-shaffer-8826_austen_after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen_1530250.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11a/mary-ann-shaffer-8826_austen_after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen_1530250.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“After all, what's good enough for Austen ought to be good enough for anyone.” — Mary Ann Shaffer", "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": "Mary Ann Shaffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "After all, what's good enough for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen-ought-to-be-good-enough-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/after-all-what-s-good-enough-for-austen-ought-to-be-good-enough-for/#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 } } ] } ```