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Quote by Jane Austen

“But one never does form a just idea of anybody beforehand. One takes up a notion and runs away with it.”

Quote by Jane Austen

Book:Emma

Work

Emma

Emma, written by Jane Austen, is a satirical novel that explores themes of social status, romance, and the complexities of human relationships. The narrative follows the protagonist, Emma Woodhouse, a wealthy and somewhat naive young woman who becomes involved in the romantic entanglements of those around her. Through her meddlesome attempts to matchmake, Emma learns valuable lessons about herself and the society in which she lives. more

Author

Jane Austen
Jane Austen

Jane Austen, born on December 16, 1775, and died on July 18, 1817, was a renowned English novelist of the 19th century. Known for her exquisite psychological portrayals and satirical humor, Austen's works mainly revolve around rural life in England, depicting the customs and interpersonal relationships of the time. Her representative works include 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Sense and Sensibility'. more

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“Can you be sure that others have not come before you and destroyed the pristine state of the native myth? Can you be sure that the natives are not humoring you or pulling your leg? Bronislaw Malinowski thought he had discovered a people in the Trobriant Islands who had not worked out the connection between sexual intercourse and childbirth. When asked how children were conceived, they supplied him with an elaborate mythic structure prominently featuring celestial intervention. Amazed, Malinowski objected that was not how it was done at all, and supplied them instead with the version so popular in the West today – including a nine-month gestation period. “Impossible,” replied the Melanesians. “Do you not see that woman over there with her six-month-old child? Her husband has been on an extended voyage to another island for two years.” Is it more likely that the Melanesians were ignorant of the begetting of children or that they were gently chiding Malinowski? If some peculiar-looking stranger came into my town and asked ME where babies came from, I’d certainly be tempted to tell him about storks and cabbages. Prescientific people are people. Individually they are as clever as we are.”

“We stay the same as we've always been, keeping to the path we've walked our whole lives. Paths that carry so much importance and perceived stability that we are utterly convinced it is the only one to walk – that anyone not walking it with us is being misled.”

“Because that was the problem, really, wasn’t it, with being human? You couldn’t just be, couldn’t just live and exist without dragging your feet through the mud. You had to communicate, congregate, collaborate, cohabiate. You had to corroborate. Copulate. You had to co-this, co-that, co—bloody-everything, and if you weren’t co-operating you were operating with the co, which was a declaration less of independence than of relativity. You could only really exist in relation to others.”