I want to post more from Mansfield Park, for Luciana’s sake, but I’ve been reading through Jane’s letters again and had to share this.
One of my favorite sets of letters is to Jane’s niece Fanny, as she is trying to decide whether or not to marry one very good but evidently slightly boring guy. Here’s a snippet:
“There are such beings in the World, perhaps, one in a Thousand, as the Creature You & I should think perfection, where Grace & Spirit are united to Worth, where the Manners are equal to the Heart & Understanding, but such a person may not come in your way, or if he does, he may not be the eldest son of a Man of Fortune, the Brother of your particular friend, & belonging to your own County.”
letter to Fanny Knight
November 18, 1814 [109] (emphasis mine)
I believe that guys like this are out there, but perhaps they may not come my way as often as I would like.
The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman (May, 2012)
A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith
There are men like that out there, but they are few and far between. Lovely quote.
Hey, thaks for remembering me! I’m really happy that you really read our comments! I wasn’t being rude or anything, I’m sorry for the way that my comment could have sounded, I didn’t mean it, it’s just because it was the first MP quote, so I was happy. But, any way… This is a wonderful quote! It shows us that what was really going on on Jane’s life is what she have written about. And, of course, seems a lot like the other quotes about marriage that we have on P&P a MP.
Oh, no worries! No offense taken at all. I’m just glad to know there are MP fans out there!
I haven’t done a great job in the past responding to comments, I’ve just been buried in editing, but I hope to get better!