Jane Austen Quotes on Life, Love, and Friendship

When you think of English novelist Jane Austen, what comes to mind first?

Frilly dresses and tea parties? 

Social events where dashing men sweep women off their feet?

Close enough, since she is best known for her depiction of the romantic endeavors of middle class English people.

According to a study by the University of California, Berkeley, individuals who regularly read fiction, including classic novels like Jane Austen’s works, exhibit greater empathy and emotional intelligence.

This finding supports the idea that reading Austen’s quotes on life, love, and friendship can help readers understand and connect with others on a deeper level.

Some of Austen’s pieces include: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion.

Aside from her writing, she is actually also notorious for her sharp mind, frank thoughts, realism, and social commentary.

Although they were written two centuries ago, and she gained popularity posthumously, from topics about books and writing itself, love, friendship and life’s ironies, Austen wins.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Check out our entire collection of motivational quotes here. 

Here are few Jane Austen quotes that justify her unique and witty view of human nature: 

Jane Austen Quotes on Love

A 2019 survey conducted by YouGov found that 57% of Americans believe that classic literature, such as the works of Jane Austen, has significant value in today’s society.

This statistic can help to persuade readers to explore Austen’s quotes and writings, as they are part of a larger cultural canon that has stood the test of time.

1. “There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.” – Jane Austen

2. “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” – Jane Austen

3. “You must be the best judge of your own happiness.” – Jane Austen

4. “The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone.” – Jane Austen

5. “Her heart did whisper that he had done it for her.” – Jane Austen

6. “There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time.” – Jane Austen

7. “It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.” – Jane Austen

8. “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.” – Jane Austen

9. “Then I examined my own heart. And there you were. Never, I fear, to be removed.” – Jane Austen

10. “Perhaps it is our imperfections that make us so perfect for one another.” – Jane Austen

Jane Austen quotes on knowing oneself

A Pew Research Center survey found that social media users are more likely to be exposed to differing views and perspectives than non-users.

Including Austen’s witty and thought-provoking quotes on life, love, and friendship on social media platforms can help expand readers’ viewpoints and encourage dialogue among diverse groups.

11. “To you I shall say, as I have often said before, do not be in a hurry, the right man will come at last.” – Jane Austen

12. “I lay it down as a general rule, Harriet, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him.” – Jane Austen

Motivated to find yourself a Mr. Darcy yet?

13. “I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.” – Jane Austen

14. “We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.” – Jane Austen

15. “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.” – Jane Austen

16. “One man’s ways may be as good as another’s, but we all like our own best.” – Jane Austen

17. “I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my own way.” – Jane Austen

18. “A mind lively and at ease, can do with seeing nothing, and can see nothing that does not answer.” – Jane Austen

19. “Oh! Do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.” – Jane Austen

20. “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us.” – Jane Austen

21. “Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” – Jane Austen

22. “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” – Jane Austen

23. “I always deserve the best treatment because I never put up with any other.” – Jane Austen

Austen also reminds us that when it comes to emotions, being gentle should be considered strength, rather than a weakness.

Jane Austen quotes on Emotions

24. “Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.” – Jane Austen

25. “Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen

26. “I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” – Jane Austen

27. “I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.” – Jane Austen

28. “I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control.” – Jane Austen

29. “Know your own happiness. Want for nothing but patience – or give it a more fascinating name: Call it hope.” – Jane Austen

Jane Austen quotes on Friendship

30. “Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.” – Jane Austen

31. “My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.” – Jane Austen

32. “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” – Jane Austen
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our selection of friendship quotes celebrating life-long relationships.

Jane Austen Quotes on Books and Writing

33. “But for my own part, if a book is well written, I always find it too short.” – Jane Austen

34. “I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love.” – Jane Austen

35. “A person, who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.” – Jane Austen

36. “I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” – Jane Austen

Jane Austen Quotes on Life

37. “None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” – Jane Austen

38. “Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.” – Jane Austen

39. “Nobody minds having what is too good for them.” – Jane Austen

40. “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” – Jane Austen

41. “Those who do not complain are never pitied.” – Jane Austen

42. “There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.” – Jane Austen

43. “There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.” – Jane Austen

44. “Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised or a little mistaken.” – Jane Austen

45. “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” – Jane Austen

More Jane Austen quotes

46. “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” – Jane Austen

47. “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” – Jane Austen

48. “The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!” – Jane Austen

49. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” – Jane Austen

50. “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.” – Jane Austen

51. “Angry people are not always wise.” – Jane Austen

52. “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures.” – Jane Austen

53. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. I have loved none but you.” – Jane Austen

54. “What are men to rocks and mountains?” – Jane Austen

What do you think of these Jane Austen quotes?

Although her plots revolve around the social standing of 19^th century women, it doesn’t mean that the entirety of Austen’s novels and characters are weak-kneed females – women who only live to take on their roles as mothers, daughters, or lovers.

Jane Austen is the epitome of girl power.

In a generation where feminism, sexism and gender roles are rampant, we need more pure women like her as a role model.

If situated in modern times, her characters are just as strong, dynamic, and relevant as they were in the 19^th century.

As mentioned by writer and editor Sarah Seltzer:

“She made profound observations about the way people interact, specifically on how women make do in a world that is hostile towards them.”

Those who haven’t gotten the chance to indulge in her classic literary works can also turn to the novel-inspired movies, with roles played by Anne Hathaway and Keira Knightley.

Trying to keep up with modern storylines?

Give “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” spinoff novel (and now motion picture) a shot.