“But I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.”
Mrs. Croft to her brother Frederick Wentworth about his hesitancy to have a woman aboard his ship
Persuasion, volume 1, chapter 8
Filed under Capt. Wentworth, Mrs. Croft, On being a lady, Persuasion
Hello, dear readers! Forgive my absence Friday — I was in an editing stupor. Just a couple more days, and then all should be nearly done… and I love it, but I can’t wait until this book is ready for publication!
Today’s quote is in honor of tonight’s season finale for The Bachelor (which, of course, is completely ridiculous, but sometimes I have to watch it to see just how ridiculous it’s going to be. I think Jane would understand).
“Yes, here I am, Sophia, quite ready to make a foolish match. Anybody between fifteen and thirty may have me for asking. A little beauty, and a few smiles, and a few compliments to the navy, and I am a lost man.”
Captain Wentworth to his sister Mrs. Croft
Persuasion, volume 1, chapter 7
Now, Frederick Wentworth… I could compliment that navy.
Filed under Beauty, Capt. Wentworth, Marriage, Persuasion, the Navy
“Soon, however, she began to reason with herself, and try to be feeling less. . . . Alas! with all her reasonings she found that to retentive feelings eight years may be little more than nothing. Now, how were his sentiments to be read? Was this like wishing to avoid her? And the next moment she was hating herself for the folly which asked the question.”
Anne Elliot, on first encountering Captain Wentworth again over breakfast at Mary’s house, after not having seen him for years
Persuasion, volume 1, chapter 7
I love this quote. Anne’s trying to hard to be reasonable, to not feel what she’s feeling, to not think about Captain Wentworth, and she can’t help herself.
Comments Off on Eight very short years
Filed under Anne Elliot, Capt. Wentworth, Persuasion, Self-command, Uncertainty in love
“He was, at the time, a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence, spirit, and brilliancy; and Anne an extremely pretty girl, with gentleness, modesty, taste, and feeling. Half the sum of attraction, on either side, might have been enough, for he had nothing to do, and she had hardly anybody to love; but the encounter of such lavish recommendations could not fail. It would be difficult to say which had seen highest perfection in the other, or which had been the happiest: she, in receiving his declarations and proposals, or he in having them accepted.”
the background on Anne and Captain Wentworth’s first meeting, eight years before the story begins
Persuasion, chapter 4
Filed under Anne Elliot, Beauty, Capt. Wentworth, Character description, Engagement, Love, Persuasion
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