--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Charlotte Palmer is no sillier than…" description: "\"“Charlotte Palmer is no sillier than Harriet Smith; and yet, how intolerable we should find it to see and hear as much of Charlotte as we do of Harriet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/mary-lascelles-31507_emma_charlotte-palmer-is-no-sillier-than-harr_298221.jpg" --- # Charlotte Palmer is no sillier than Harriet Smith; and… ![“Charlotte Palmer is no sillier than Harriet Smith; and yet, how intolerable we should find it to see and hear as much of Charlotte as we do of Harriet! And would Miss Bates have been endurable if she had been presented in the mood and manners of Sense and Sensibility?” quote by Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/mary-lascelles-31507_emma_charlotte-palmer-is-no-sillier-than-harr_298221.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/mary-lascelles-31507_emma_charlotte-palmer-is-no-sillier-than-harr_298221.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/mary-lascelles-31507_emma_charlotte-palmer-is-no-sillier-than-harr_298221.jpg) > ““Charlotte Palmer is no sillier than Harriet Smith; and yet, how intolerable we should find it to see and hear as much of Charlotte as we do of Harriet! And would Miss Bates have been endurable if she had been presented in the mood and manners of Sense and Sensibility? ”” [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the over‑valuation of a character who is less sensible than another, suggesting taste can be misguided. **In simple terms:** People often favor the wrong role models. Key Takeaway Question your preferences and seek substance. Themes literature character analysis social critique Mood reflective analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - reading classic novels - literary criticism - teaching literature - discussing character traits Key Concepts Jane Austen character dynamics social perception Questions to Reflect On - What qualities do you truly value in people? - How does societal bias shape our judgments? A Different Perspective The comparison may oversimplify characters and ignore context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sense And Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-and-sensibility/) [Sense-and-sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-and-sensibility-2/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) ## Related quotes > [“Many of Jane Austen's admirers, it is true, read her novels as a means of escape into a cozy sort of Old English nirvana,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-carson/many-of-jane-austen-s-admirers-it-is-true-read-her-novels-as-a-means/) Susannah Carson > [“The pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety. -Sense and Sensibility”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-pleasantness-of-an-employment-does-not-always-evince-its/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“He laughed, but his face was unreadable as he looked at her titles. “Ah, a collection from Sir Walter Scott. Very nice, I’ve always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-michaels/he-laughed-but-his-face-was-unreadable-as-he-looked-at-her-titles-ah/) [Jess Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-michaels/) > [I think my first bout of that was when I was doing me and My Girl, funnily enough. I really didn't change my clothes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/i-think-my-first-bout-of-that-was-when-i-was-doing-me-and-my-girl/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [“I am reading Ian Rankins book Doors Open and am enjoying his dark Edinburgh narrative will rate soon once I have read it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-rankin/i-am-reading-ian-rankins-book-doors-open-and-am-enjoying-his-dark/) [IAN RANKIN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-rankin/) > [“...I have decided that I shan't sweat the small stuff. Sense and sensibility will, I assume, come in their own time. If indeed they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mowafi/i-have-decided-that-i-shan-t-sweat-the-small-stuff-sense-and/) [Amy Mowafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mowafi/) > [Older people say, 'Oh I loved you in 'Sense and Sensibility,'' and that's the only film they want to talk about. Equally, there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-rickman/older-people-say-oh-i-loved-you-in-sense-and-sensibility-and-that-s/) [Alan Rickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-rickman/) > [“Today we are less accustomed to look for universal norms in what we read ... partly because we tend to see life, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-carson/today-we-are-less-accustomed-to-look-for-universal-norms-in-what-we/) Susannah Carson > [ “ Sense and Sensibility signs litter Devon -- arrows with S & S on. Whenever Ang \[Lee\] sees a B & B sign he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/sense-and-sensibility-signs-litter-devon-arrows-with-s-s-on-whenever/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [“Well it seems to me that there are books that tell stories, and then there are books that tell truths...," I began. "Go on,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/well-it-seems-to-me-that-there-are-books-that-tell-stories-and-then/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) > [“And listen--tell your friend to try English Breakfast net time. It's a little more robust. Earl Grey is really more of a 'Sense and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/and-listen-tell-your-friend-to-try-english-breakfast-net-time-it-s-a/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [“She is not well, she has had a nervous complaint on her for several weeks.' 'I am sorry for that. At her time of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/she-is-not-well-she-has-had-a-nervous-complaint-on-her-for-several/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I got quite cross when I heard about Emma Thompson adapting 'Sense and Sensibility.' It was absolutely childish of me, but I thought, 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/i-got-quite-cross-when-i-heard-about-emma-thompson-adapting-sense-and/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [“Colonel Brandon alone, of all the party, heard her without being in raptures. He paid her only the compliment of attention. from Sense and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/colonel-brandon-alone-of-all-the-party-heard-her-without-being-in/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I grew up reading 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'Pride and Prejudice' - girly kind of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leighton-meester/i-grew-up-reading-sense-and-sensibility-and-pride-and-prejudice-girly/) [Leighton Meester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leighton-meester/) ## More by Mary Lascelles > [“A story conducted by the time of a clock and calendars alone would be a story not of human beings but of mechanical toys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/a-story-conducted-by-the-time-of-a-clock-and-calendars-alone-would-be/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“In Jane Austen it was the critical faculty that would not be quieted; and that faculty in her, played on men and women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/in-jane-austen-it-was-the-critical-faculty-that-would-not-be-quieted/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“A clever girl may pass through the phase of foolish miss on the way to sensible woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/a-clever-girl-may-pass-through-the-phase-of-foolish-miss-on-the-way/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“When many story-tellers occupy themselves with a social world which offers no great variety of lively action, their stories will probably resemble one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/when-many-story-tellers-occupy-themselves-with-a-social-world-which/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“Others beside Jane Austen have made their Eltons, though none quite so cooly as she.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/others-beside-jane-austen-have-made-their-eltons-though-none-quite-so/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“Jane Austen's narrative style seems to me to show (especially in the later novels) a curiously chameleon-like faculty; it varies in colour as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/jane-austen-s-narrative-style-seems-to-me-to-show-especially-in-the/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“Jane Austen never repeats herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/jane-austen-never-repeats-herself/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“Sympathy compounded of liking and compassion in varying proportions evidently seemed to Jane Austen the most natural inventive to imaginative interest in a character.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/sympathy-compounded-of-liking-and-compassion-in-varying-proportions/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“I suspect that Jane Austen's practice of denying herself the aid of figurative language which, as much as any of her other habits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/i-suspect-that-jane-austen-s-practice-of-denying-herself-the-aid-of/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“The artist (I suppose) usually pays for the privilege by some sort of partial insomnia, by the possession of one faculty that will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/the-artist-i-suppose-usually-pays-for-the-privilege-by-some-sort-of/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“Mannerism, especially when it takes the form of recurrent word or phrase, is by no means easy to represent; there is but a hair's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/mannerism-especially-when-it-takes-the-form-of-recurrent-word-or/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“The sole agents, indeed, in the action of her novels are individual human beings. And the comedy is the outcome of their making fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/the-sole-agents-indeed-in-the-action-of-her-novels-are-individual/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“As for Elizabeth Bennet, our chief reason for accepting her point of view as a reflection of her author's is the impression that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/as-for-elizabeth-bennet-our-chief-reason-for-accepting-her-point-of/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“Landscapes we must owe something to the eye of the beholder. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/landscapes-we-must-owe-something-to-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) > [“Few novelists can be more scrupulous than Jane Austen as to the phrasing of the thoughts of their characters. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-than-jane-austen-as-to-the/) [Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) [Explore all 16 Mary Lascelles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/) ## More Emma quotes > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [For a moment he could have sworn he smelled violets, which was very peculiar, since he had no idea what violets smelled like, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/for-a-moment-he-could-have-sworn-he-smelled-violets-which-was-very/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I really want to work with Emma Stone; she is adorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-fuhrman/i-really-want-to-work-with-emma-stone-she-is-adorable/) [Isabelle Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-fuhrman/) > [“But one thing I do know, you don't screw with crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandy-nacole/but-one-thing-i-do-know-you-don-t-screw-with-crazy/) [Brandy Nacole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandy-nacole/) > [Gustave Flaubert said, "Emma Bovary, c'est moi." It is not possible to write something you are not, but to have a new form, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/gustave-flaubert-said-emma-bovary-c-est-moi-it-is-not-possible-to/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [“Yours if you want it." - Julian to Emma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-duran/yours-if-you-want-it-julian-to-emma/) [Meredith Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-duran/) > [“Whenever you are transplanted, like me, you will understand how very delightful it is to meet with anything at all like what one has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/whenever-you-are-transplanted-like-me-you-will-understand-how-very/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“The heart is a strange thing," Evelyn said, staring off into space. "It can be broken easily and takes a long time to mend,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-holman/the-heart-is-a-strange-thing-evelyn-said-staring-off-into-space-it/) [Sarah Holman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-holman/) > [Emma Rothschild's magnificently researched and lucidly written book reveals the many connections and layers of empire without in any way undermining the less edifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudrangshu-mukherjee/emma-rothschild-s-magnificently-researched-and-lucidly-written-book/) Rudrangshu Mukherjee > [Emma, I'm sorry, I can't help you. This is a disaster. You're completely vulnerable. It's like going into battle in a nightie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/emma-i-m-sorry-i-can-t-help-you-this-is-a-disaster-you-re-completely/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Do you miss her?' 'Who? Emma? Of course. Every day. She was my best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/do-you-miss-her-who-emma-of-course-every-day-she-was-my-best-friend/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“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 > [“I need to go get ready to leave. Will you be okay?" I start making my way to the stairs, but Briston practically cries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandy-nacole/i-need-to-go-get-ready-to-leave-will-you-be-okay-i-start-making-my/) [Brandy Nacole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandy-nacole/) Browse all 192 Emma quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Charlotte Palmer is no sillier than Harriet Smith; and yet, how intolerable we should find it to see and hear as much of Charlotte as we do of Harriet! 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