Best Of Jane Austen's "Emma"

Painting above: Les Bavardes (c.1905) by Jacqueline Marval

"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart,"

said she afterward to herself.

"There is nothing to be compared to it.

Warmth and tenderness of heart, with an affectionate,

open manner, will beat all the clearness of head in the world,

for attraction, I'm sure it will."

"My dear Miss Woodhouse, a vast deal

may be done by those

who dare to act."

"She felt as if the spring would not pass without

bringing a crisis, an event, a something

to alter her present composed and tranquil state."

Such an adventure as this, a fine young man and a lovely

young woman thrown together in such a way,

could hardly fail of suggesting certain ideas to the coldest heart

and the steadiest brain. So Emma thought, at least.

Could a linguist, could a grammarian, could even a mathematician

have seen what she did, have witnessed their appearance

together, and heard their history of it,

without feeling that circumstances had been at work

to make them peculiarly interesting to each other?

Emma denied none of it aloud, and agreed to none of it in private.

To understand, thoroughly understand her own heart,

was the first endeavor.

She lost no time in hurrying into the shrubbery.

(more here on this quote)

Emma in particular I thought interesting for its minute observations of social customs and rampant classism for the time such as:

She liked his open manners, but a little less of open-heartedness

would have made him a higher character.

General benevolence, but not general friendship,

made a man what he ought to be.

Note: I was unable to provide proper page numbers associated with these quotes because I read this on my e-reader.

the yak occidental