Quotes: Character (8)

The idea in the bold-face print is an interpretation of the quote that follows. The number is the page where the quote was found.

Character (8)
Character 17 Portrait of an ordinary man. "Marianne on Edward: …his figure is not striking…his eyes want all that spirit, that fire, which at once announce virtue and intelligence…he has no real taste…he admires as a lover, not as a connoisseur…." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 21 From conjecture to belief in an instant. "She [Elinor] knew that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next—that with them, to wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 31 Well-bred, but a cipher for a personality. "Lady Middleton…though perfectly well-bred, she was reserved, cold, and had nothing to say for herself beyond the most commonplace inquiry or remark." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 365 An amateur marriage broker. "Mrs. Jennings was a widow…had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married, and she had now therefore nothing to do but to marry all the rest of the world… In promotion of this object she was zealously active…missed no opportunity of projecting weddings among all the young people of her acquaintance…was remarkably quick in the discovery of attachments…always anxious to get a good husband for every pretty girl." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 39 Self-control. "Elinor’s character: Even now her self-command is invariable; when is she dejected or melancholy?…does she try to avoid society, or appear restless and dissatisfied in it?" Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 70 She constantly speculated about all of her acquaintances. "…she was a great wonderer, as every one must be who takes a very lively interest in all the comings and goings of all their acquaintance." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 84 If she needed an explanation, she found one. "But Mrs. Dashwood could find explanations whenever she wanted them, which at least satisfied herself." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 95 "Do not you know that she calls everyone reserved who does not talk as fast, and admire what she admires as rapturously as herself?" Austen, Sense and Sensibility.


Character 106 Gauche. "He [Mr. Palmer] entered the room with a look of self-consequence, slightly bowed to the ladies, without speaking a word, and, after briefly surveying them and their apartments, took up a newspaper from the table, and continued to read it as long as he stayed." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Character 111 Rude. “My love, you contradict everybody,”—said his wife [to Mr. Palmer] with her usual laugh; “do you know that you are quite rude?” Austen, Sense and Sensibility.