12 famous lines from Jane Austen, word for word from the original text
Jane Austen's 1813 novel follows Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy as first impressions, family pressure and pride get in the way of love. Its lines on vanity, marriage and judging others are among the most quoted in English literature.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter I · about 5% into the book
“I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter V · about 9% into the book
“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter V · about 9% into the book
“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXXIV · about 51% into the book
“I declare, after all, there is no enjoyment like reading!”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XI · about 17% into the book
“Till this moment, I never knew myself.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXXVI · about 56% into the book
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXXI · about 47% into the book
“For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter LVII · about 94% into the book
“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter LX · about 98% into the book
“Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter LVIII · about 95% into the book
“A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter VI · about 11% into the book
“The more I see of the world the more am I dissatisfied with it”
— Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXIV · about 37% into the book
Chapters follow the Project Gutenberg edition. Page numbers differ between printed editions — that's why Eqtepas records the page of your copy when you save a quote.
One of the best-known lines from Pride and Prejudice is: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” (Chapter I).
Yes. Every quote on this page is copied word for word from the public-domain text of Pride and Prejudice on Project Gutenberg, with the chapter it appears in — so you can find it in your own copy.
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