--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People love Jane Austen, even though…" description: "\"People love Jane Austen, even though those books are absurd to us, because we like the clarity of it: we can see very clearly what Elizabeth Bennett ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b6/nick-hornby-325_austen_people-love-jane-austen-even-though-thos_1169270.png" --- # People love Jane Austen, even though those books are… ![“People love Jane Austen, even though those books are absurd to us, because we like the clarity of it: we can see very clearly what Elizabeth Bennett has to overcome, what she has to deal with.” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b6/nick-hornby-325_austen_people-love-jane-austen-even-though-thos_1169270.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b6/nick-hornby-325_austen_people-love-jane-austen-even-though-thos_1169270.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b6/nick-hornby-325_austen_people-love-jane-austen-even-though-thos_1169270.png) > “People love Jane Austen, even though those books are absurd to us, because we like the clarity of it: we can see very clearly what Elizabeth Bennett has to overcome, what she has to deal with.” [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## 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's clarity lets readers empathize with her characters' struggles. **In simple terms:** Clear storytelling reveals struggles. Key Takeaway Seek clarity in narratives. Themes literature empathy clarity Mood conversational appreciative Type literary critical When to use this quote - reading clubs - writing workshops - teaching literature Key Concepts character development social critique Questions to Reflect On - Why does clarity matter in storytelling? - How does Austen's era affect relevance? A Different Perspective Some may find her style dated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Clarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarity/) [Elizabeth Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elizabeth-bennet/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [ For \[Jane Austen and the readers of Pride and Prejudice\], as for Mr. Darcy, \[Elizabeth Bennett's\] solitary walks express the independence that literally takes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-jane-austen-and-the-readers-of-pride-and-prejudice-as-for-mr/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Matthais: \*Sighs\* England. I’d take my Valentine to England on a tour of all the places from Jane Austen’s books. Derbyshire, Mr. Darcy’s house.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-kirk/matthais-sighs-england-i-d-take-my-valentine-to-england-on-a-tour-of/) A&E Kirk > [I haven't any right to criticize books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticize Jane Austen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-haven-t-any-right-to-criticize-books-and-i-don-t-do-it-except-when/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When I take up one of Jane Austen's books ... I feel like a barkeep entering the kingdom of heaven. I know what his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/when-i-take-up-one-of-jane-austen-s-books-i-feel-like-a-barkeep/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Jane Austen's books, too, are absent from this library. Just that one omission alone would make a fairly good library out of a library…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/jane-austen-s-books-too-are-absent-from-this-library-just-that-one/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“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/) > [“We needed to get back to the times of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy or Tristan and Isolde. Where you felt that life altering,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mckee/we-needed-to-get-back-to-the-times-of-elizabeth-bennett-and-mr-darcy/) [Emily McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mckee/) > [You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/you-are-mistaken-mr-darcy-if-you-suppose-that-the-mode-of-your-2/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I've worked with people and I've known people that were really competitive but I've always said that I take an Elizabeth Bennett philosophy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/i-ve-worked-with-people-and-i-ve-known-people-that-were-really/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [“I guess I was inching and crawling my way toward Elizabeth Bennett's words about unconditional love. 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I need advice from Elizabeth Bennett.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-voices-of-reason-and-of-hysteria-and-of-empathy-i-need-to-have/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [As the tide of feminism that crested two decades ago recedes and the old advance-and-retreat games of courtship return, "Pride & Prejudice" speaks wistfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-holden/as-the-tide-of-feminism-that-crested-two-decades-ago-recedes-and-the/) Stephen Holden > [“What is your favorite book?” One of Jane’s dark eyebrows lifted. “Rather like choosing a favorite shade of blue, my lady. Each is beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisa-braden/what-is-your-favorite-book-one-of-jane-s-dark-eyebrows-lifted-rather/) [Elisa Braden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisa-braden/) > [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/) ## More by Nick Hornby > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You've got to kick off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/a-good-compilation-tape-like-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-and-takes-ages/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I'm still not a very good white wine, but I'm drinkable - you could put me in a punch, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-still-not-a-very-good-white-wine-but-i-m-drinkable-you-could-put/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I wasted the 1980s. I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## 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 > [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": "People love Jane Austen, even though those books are absurd to us, because we like the clarity of it: we can see very clearly what Elizabeth Bennett has to overcome, what she has to deal with.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Hornby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/people-love-jane-austen-even-though-those-books-are-absurd-to-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/people-love-jane-austen-even-though-those-books-are-absurd-to-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b6/nick-hornby-325_austen_people-love-jane-austen-even-though-thos_1169270.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b6/nick-hornby-325_austen_people-love-jane-austen-even-though-thos_1169270.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b6/nick-hornby-325_austen_people-love-jane-austen-even-though-thos_1169270.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People love Jane Austen, even though those books are absurd to us, because we like the clarity of it: we can…” — Nick Hornby", "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": "Nick Hornby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People love Jane Austen, even though...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/people-love-jane-austen-even-though-those-books-are-absurd-to-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/people-love-jane-austen-even-though-those-books-are-absurd-to-us/#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 } } ] } ```