“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 . . .”
Of Emma’s conversation with Mr. Knightley as he proposes, when she cuts him off and then suggests they “take another turn” in the garden. Knightley was ready to forgive any sort of awkwardness, because he understood Emma’s heart.
Emma, volume 3, chapter 13
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Filed under Conversation, Emma, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Knightley, Proposals, Truth
"What did she say? Just what she ought, of course. A lady always does."
Of Emma’s reply to Mr. Knightley, when he proposes
Emma, volume 3, chapter 13
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Filed under Emma, Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Knightley, On being a lady, Proposals
“There they exchanged again those feelings and those promises which had once before seemed to secure everything, but which had been followed by so many, many years of division and estrangement. There they returned again into the past, more exquisitely happy, perhaps, in their re-union, than when it had been first projected; more tender, more tried, more fixed in a knowledge of each other’s character, truth, and attachment; more equal to act, more justified in acting.”
Of Anne and Captain Wentworth’s engagement along the gravel walk in Bath.
Persuasion, volume 2, chapter 11
I believe I walked along this gravel path in Bath, but didn’t realize what it was while I walked there.
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Filed under Anne Elliot, Capt. Wentworth, Character, Happiness, Persuasion, Proposals
“Such a letter was not to be soon recovered from. . . . Every moment rather brought fresh agitation. It was an overpowering happiness.”
Persuasion, volume 2, chapter 11
Filed under Anne Elliot, Capt. Wentworth, Happiness, Persuasion, Proposals
“I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F.W.”
Captain Wentworth’s letter to Anne, in the Musgrove’s room at the White Hart in Bath
Persuasion, volume 2, chapter 11
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Filed under Anne Elliot, Capt. Wentworth, Love, Men, Persuasion, Proposals
“Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes?”
Captain Wentworth’s letter to Anne, in the Musgrove’s room at the White Hart in Bath
Persuasion, volume 2, chapter 11
Rupert Penry-Jones as Wentworth. Image via TVscoop.
Filed under Anne Elliot, Capt. Wentworth, Love, Persuasion, Proposals
I don’t know how it is that we haven’t featured Captain Wentworth’s letter here yet. <swoon…> Happy Monday, dear readers!
“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever.”
Captain Wentworth’s letter to Anne, in the Musgrove’s room at the White Hart in Bath
Persuasion, volume 2, chapter 11
Icon from Heather, from the first icon contest at Jane Austen Today. Click here to vote in the current contest. Voting ends Wednesday, but you can vote once a day until then.
Filed under Anne Elliot, Capt. Wentworth, Love, Persuasion, Proposals
Happy Valentine’s Day, dear readers! One of my favorites…
Here is Knightley echoing Darcy’s thoughts of the other day:
“I cannot make speeches, Emma . . . If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”
Emma, volume 3, chapter 13
Filed under Emma, Emma Woodhouse, Love, Mr. Knightley, Proposals
Mr. Collins and his dreadful proposal…
“You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that your
refusal of my addresses is merely words of course. My reasons for
believing it are briefly these: — It does not appear to me that my
hand is unworthy your acceptance, or that the establishment I can offer
would be any other than highly desirable. My situation in life, my
connections with the family of De Bourgh, and my relationship to your
own, are circumstances highly in its favor; and you should take it into
farther consideration that in spite of your manifold attractions, it is
by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made
you. Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood
undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable qualifications. As I
must therefore conclude that you are not serious in your rejection of
me, I shall chuse to attribute it to your wish of increasing my love by
suspense, according to the usual practice of elegant females.”
Pride and Prejudice, volume 1, chapter 19
Thanks to Mollands for the illustration.
Filed under Elizabeth Bennet, Money, Money and Marriage, Mr. Collins, Pride and Prejudice, Proposals
“Oh! to be sure,” cried Emma, “it is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage. A man always imagines a woman to be ready for anybody who asks her.”
Emma discussing with Mr. Knightley the face that Harriet Smith has refused Robert Martin
Emma, volume 1, chapter 8
Filed under Emma, Emma Woodhouse, Harriet Smith, Marriage, Mr. Knightley, Proposals
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
