--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Jane] Austen was not a novelist for…" description: "\"“[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 -- enteri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg" --- # \[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew… ![“[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/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.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.”” [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories let us share empathy and recognize humanity, making listening a profound act of usefulness. **In simple terms:** Stories foster empathy and humanity. Key Takeaway Listening validates others. Themes Empathy Humanity Narrative Connection Purpose Mood Reflective Compassionate Hopeful Type Philosophical Inspirational When to use this quote - Therapy sessions - Team meetings - Cross‑cultural exchanges - Education - Counseling Key Concepts Storytelling Compassion Social bonding Practical Applications - Building empathy in groups - Designing narrative‑driven training Questions to Reflect On - How does sharing a story change your perception of another? - What role does listening play in community building? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [Anytime you share life stories with other people, you know, you are acknowledging their humanity and kind of accessing some things about yourself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/anytime-you-share-life-stories-with-other-people-you-know-you-are/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [As I started to think about how I can claim feminism while also acknowledging my humanity and my imperfections, 'bad feminism' simply seemed like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/as-i-started-to-think-about-how-i-can-claim-feminism-while-also/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“assumption prevents us from acknowledging the full humanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rinku-sen/assumption-prevents-us-from-acknowledging-the-full-humanity/) [Rinku Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rinku-sen/) > [“(Golden Globe acceptance speech in the style of Jane Austen's letters ): "Four A.M. Having just returned from an evening at the Golden Spheres,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/golden-globe-acceptance-speech-in-the-style-of-jane-austen-s-letters/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say-moby-dick-is-good-but-it-s/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [“When you asked me to speak about women and fiction I sat down on the banks of a river and began to wonder what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/when-you-asked-me-to-speak-about-women-and-fiction-i-sat-down-on-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Nick? Any idea?" Nick coughs too. "Nope. No idea at all." Wilbur gives him a stern look. "So what was the point in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-smale/nick-any-idea-nick-coughs-too-nope-no-idea-at-all-wilbur-gives-him-a/) [Holly Smale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-smale/) > [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 > [“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. 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 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/) ## More by William Deresiewicz > [Life, if you live it right, keeps surprising you, and the thing that keeps surprising you the most…is yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/life-if-you-live-it-right-keeps-surprising-you-and-the-thing-that/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“No real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/no-real-excellence-personal-or-social-artistic-philosophical/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [If you're oblivious to other people, chances are pretty good that you're going to hurt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/if-you-re-oblivious-to-other-people-chances-are-pretty-good-that-you/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [Don't play it safe. Resist the seductions of the cowardly values our society has come to prize so highly: comfort, convenience, security, predictability, control.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/don-t-play-it-safe-resist-the-seductions-of-the-cowardly-values-our/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“there’s a bigger social reward for being able to talk about books than for actually reading them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/there-s-a-bigger-social-reward-for-being-able-to-talk-about-books/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [We proceed by doubt, by trial and error, by resisting the impulse to lunge after certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/we-proceed-by-doubt-by-trial-and-error-by-resisting-the-impulse-to/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“...Novels--which, after all, are training grounds for responding to the world, imaginative sanctuaries in which to hone and test our ethical judgments and choices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/novels-which-after-all-are-training-grounds-for-responding-to-the/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [People’s stories are the most personal thing they have, and paying attention to those stories is just about the most important thing you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/people-s-stories-are-the-most-personal-thing-they-have-and-paying/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“Life is more than a job; jobs are more than a paycheck; and a country is more than its wealth. Education is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/life-is-more-than-a-job-jobs-are-more-than-a-paycheck-and-a-country/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“By the time they finish high school—after years of learning how to please their teachers and coaches, not to mention schmoozing with their parents’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/by-the-time-they-finish-high-school-after-years-of-learning-how-to/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“Getting A’s no longer means that everything’s okay, assuming that it ever did. “We have students, who, no matter what else is going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/getting-a-s-no-longer-means-that-everything-s-okay-assuming-that-it/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“Both kinds of parenting, finally, are forms of overidentification. The helicopter parent turns the child into an instrument of her will. The overindulgent parent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/both-kinds-of-parenting-finally-are-forms-of-overidentification-the/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“A friend who teaches at a top university once asked her class to memorize thirty lines of the eighteenth-century poet Alexander Pope. Every single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/a-friend-who-teaches-at-a-top-university-once-asked-her-class-to/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/we-have-a-crisis-of-leadership-in-america-because-our-overwhelming/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [“A man never rises so high as when he knows not whither he is going.” The desire to eliminate uncertainty eliminates life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/a-man-never-rises-so-high-as-when-he-knows-not-whither-he-is-going/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) [Explore all 42 William Deresiewicz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) ## 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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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/) > [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/) > [ \[On Jane Austen:\] 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/) Browse all 292 Austen quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[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.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Deresiewicz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/william-deresiewicz-15471_austen_jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothi_62623.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Jane] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that…” — William Deresiewicz", "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": "William Deresiewicz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[Jane] Austen was not a novelist...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/#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 } } ] } ```