Austen Quote by Susannah Carson
““Today we are less accustomed to look for universal norms in what we read ... partly because we tend to see life, and therefore literature, mainly in terms of individual experience. Jane Austen's own standards were, like those of her age, much more absolute; and as a novelist she presented all her characters in terms of of their relations to a fixed code of values. - Ian Watt "On Sense and Sensibility””
About This Quote
Source Literary Criticism: The Rise of the Novel, 1957
Notes a shift from universal norms to individual experience in literature, highlighting changing standards.
In simple terms: Literature moved from universal to personal focus.
Key Takeaway
Embrace personal perspective in reading.
Themes
literary evolution
subjectivity
modernism
culture
Mood
analytical
thoughtful
Type
critical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- book clubs
- academic courses
- creative writing
Key Concepts
novel
critical theory
aesthetics
Questions to Reflect On
- How does personal experience shape interpretation?
- Should literature retain universal values?
A Different Perspective
May undervalue timeless universal themes.
![“Sense and Sensibility signs litter Devon -- arrows with S & S on. Whenever Ang [Lee] sees a B & B sign he thinks it's for another movie.” quote by Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bf6/emma-thompson-3232_bed-and-breakfast_sense-and-sensibility-signs-litter-devon_1427713.jpg)
![“[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 stories -- entering into their feelings, validating their experiences -- is the highest way of acknowledging their humanity, the sweetest form of usefulness.” quote by William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg)
