--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Few novelists can be more scrupulous than…" description: "\"“Few novelists can be more scrupulous than Jane Austen as to the phrasing of the thoughts of their characters. ”\" — Mary Lascelles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/mary-lascelles-31507_austen_few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-tha_2984437.jpg" --- # Few novelists can be more scrupulous than Jane Austen as… ![“Few novelists can be more scrupulous than Jane Austen as to the phrasing of the thoughts of their characters.” quote by Mary Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/mary-lascelles-31507_austen_few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-tha_2984437.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/mary-lascelles-31507_austen_few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-tha_2984437.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/mary-lascelles-31507_austen_few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-tha_2984437.jpg) > ““Few novelists can be more scrupulous than Jane Austen as to the phrasing of the thoughts of their characters. ”” [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. Jane Austen meticulously crafts her characters’ thoughts, showing a high level of scrupulousness in phrasing. **In simple terms:** Austen carefully chooses words to reveal characters’ inner lives. Key Takeaway Study precise language in character development. Themes literature craft detail Mood analytical scholarly Type critical educational When to use this quote - creative writing - literary criticism - teaching - reading groups Key Concepts narrative technique character analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does precise phrasing affect reader perception? - What balance should authors strike between dialogue and action? A Different Perspective Over‑focus on phrasing may ignore plot dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-identified-with-jane-austen-s/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [“Off to sell Jane Austen to the masses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-ann-nattress/off-to-sell-jane-austen-to-the-masses/) Laurel Ann Nattress > [ \[On Jane Austen:\] To believe her limited in range because she was harmonious in method is as sensible as to imagine that when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/on-jane-austen-to-believe-her-limited-in-range-because-she-was/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [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/) > [“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 > [ “\[Jane\] 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/) > [“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. 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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": "“Few novelists can be more scrupulous than Jane Austen as to the phrasing of the thoughts of their characters. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Lascelles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-than-jane-austen-as-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-than-jane-austen-as-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/mary-lascelles-31507_austen_few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-tha_2984437.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/mary-lascelles-31507_austen_few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-tha_2984437.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/mary-lascelles-31507_austen_few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-tha_2984437.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Few novelists can be more scrupulous than Jane Austen as to the phrasing of the thoughts of their characters.” — Mary Lascelles", "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 Lascelles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lascelles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Few novelists can be more scrupulous...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-than-jane-austen-as-to-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lascelles/few-novelists-can-be-more-scrupulous-than-jane-austen-as-to-the/#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 } } ] } ```