Emma by Jane Austen

“The real evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself: these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with her.” – Chapter 1, pg. 2

“I lay it down as a general rule, that if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him.” – Chapter 7, pg. 51

“Better to be without sense than misapply it as you do.” – Chapter 8, pg. 64

“I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry. Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing; but I never have been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall. And, without love, I am sure I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine.”
– Chapter 10, pg. 87

“The first error, and worst, lay at her door. It was foolish, it was wrong, to take so active a part in bringing any two people together. It was adventuring too far, assuming too much, making light of what ought to be serious – a trick of what ought to be simple. She was quite concerned and ashamed, and resolved to do such things no more.” – Chapter 15, pg. 140

“It is only by seeing women in their own homes, among their own set, just as they always are, that you can form any just judgment. Short of that, it is all guess and luck – and will generally be ill-luck. How many a man has committed himself on a short acquaintance, and rued it all the rest of his life!” – Chapter 43, pg. 385

“I cannot make speeches, Emma. If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am. You hear nothing but truth from me. I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it.” – Chapter 49, pg. 445

So those were some of my favorite book quotes from Emma by Jane Austen.

After reading Pride & Prejudice, I was planning on tackling the rest of Jane Austen’s novels in the order they were published. But back in October, BBC (which I *think* stands for Bloody British Channel) released yet another Austen remake, so I watched it and fell in love with Romola Garai as Emma Woodhouse. And I’m glad I did, because I’ve heard Emma generally isn’t the

most likeable of Austen’s heroines and that Romola’s portrayal toned down the “stuck-up bitch” aspects of her character. Also, if I didn’t know that Mr. Knightley was going to end up as Emma’s love interest, I’m 99% sure that I would have felt like that pairing came out of nowhere… which were my exact thoughts when Cher realized she loved her stepbrother at the end of Clueless (uh, yeah, for those of you that didn’t know, apparently Clueless is a remake of Emma). And knowing Frank Churchill’s secret ahead of time made the reading experience that much better because I could pick up on the subtle hints Austen dropped (er, no, he’s not gay).

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

“What if man is not really a scoundrel, man in general, I mean, the whole race of mankind–then all the rest is prejudice, simply artificial terrors and there are no barriers and it’s all as it should be.” – Chapter 2, pg. 30

“Where is it I’ve read that someone condemned to death says or thinks, an hour before his death, that if he had to live on some high rock, on such a narrow ledge that he’d only room to stand, and the ocean, everlasting darkness, everlasting solitude, everlasting tempest around him, if he had to remain standing on a square yard of space all his life, a thousand years, eternity, it were better to live so than to die at once! Only to live, to live and live! Life, whatever it may be! How true it is! Good God, how true! Man is a vile creature! And vile is he who calls him vile for that.” – Chapter 13, pg. 148

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”
– Chapter 19, pg. 240

“We always imagine eternity as something beyond our conception, something vast, vast! But why must it be vast? Instead of all that, what if it’s one little room, like a bathhouse in the country, black and grimy and spiders in every corner, and that’s all eternity is? I sometimes fancy it like that.”
– Chapter 21, pg. 261

“Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing is easier than flattery. If there's the hundredth part of a false note in speaking the truth, it leads to a discord and that leads to trouble. But if all, to the last note, is false flattery, it is just as agreeable and is heard not without satisfaction. It may be coarse satisfaction, but it is still a satisfaction.” – Chapter 34, pg. 421

“What had he to live for? What had he to look forward to? Why should he strive? To live in order to exist? Why, he had been ready a thousand times before to give up existence for the sake of an idea, for a hope, even for a fancy. Mere existence had always been too little for him; he had always wanted more. Perhaps it was just because of the strength of his desires that he had thought himself a man to whom more was permissible than to others.”
– Chapter 43, pg. 478

So those were some of my favorite book quotes from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I was doubtful that I would be able to relate to the characters and situations since it was written such a long time ago. But I guess human nature is recognizably the same as it was in the past (and prostitutes never go out of style). Only Dostoevsky's vocabulary has aged. Although I must admit the first few

chapters had me impatiently wondering whether the entire book would be about Raskolnikov stressing over the double murder he commits (I'm still not sure if he did it for the money or for ideological reasons), but eventually a bunch of other interesting characters and subplots started popping up until I couldn't put the thing down! I enjoyed the mind games the detective played on Raskolnikov, and I cheered when his best friend and his sister finally got together. In short, I definitely think everyone should read this book at some point in their lives. It is by far a new favorite of mine.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

“I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself.”
– Chapter 3, pg. 28

“Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves.” – Chapter 7, pg. 54

“He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same... If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it. My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.” – Chapter 9, pg. 81

“The tyrant grinds down his slaves and they don't turn against him, they crush those beneath them.” – Chapter 11, pg. 111

“You said I killed you – haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe – I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” – Chapter 16, pg. 165

“Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends: they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies.” – Chapter 17, pg. 173

“He wanted all to lie in an ecstasy of peace; I wanted all to sparkle, and dance in a glorious jubilee. I said his heaven would only be half alive; and he said mine would be drunk; I said I should fall asleep in his; and he said he could not breathe in mine.” – Chapter 24, pg. 243

“I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.” – Chapter 34, pg. 331

So those were some of my favorite book quotes from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

For some reason I was expecting a nice romance. But Edward Cullen is right – Wuthering Heights isn’t a love story, it’s a hate story. I don’t see how anyone could call whatever exists between Heathcliff and Catherine love. For me, there was zero chemistry. Heathcliff seemed more concerned with exacting revenge on those who had wronged him (mainly Hindley, Linton, and their descendants), while Catherine acted like a bipolar maniac. About the only

person I could stand was Mr. Lockwood, probably because he didn’t talk about himself much. Perhaps I didn't “get” the romance in this story because I find it hard to believe someone as cruel as Heathcliff could truly love another human being. Still, this book is one amazing hate story. I really believe everyone should read this book. It has one of those epic, twisted, so-messed-up-you-can’t-look-away plots. Bronte definitely succeeds in creeping the hell out of you. Gothic literature at its best. I hardly ever read the same book twice – so many books, so little time – but I will be reading this one again. It's a classic for a reason.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.”
– Chapter 1, pg. 1

“Pride is a very common failing I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed; that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or the other, real or imaginary.” – Chapter 5, pg. 18

“Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.”
– Chapter 10, pg. 47

“There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and everyday confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense.” – Chapter 24, pg. 138

“I never saw a more promising inclination; he was growing quite inattentive to other people, and wholly engrossed by her. Every time they met, it was more decided and remarkable. At his own ball he offended two or three young ladies, by not asking them to dance; and I spoke to him twice myself, without receiving an answer. Could there be finer symptoms? Is not general incivility the very essence of love?” – Chapter 25, pg. 144

“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It was too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.” – Chapter 60, pg. 388

So those were some of my favorite book quotes from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

I wonder if I could have followed this story if I hadn’t seen the movie first. Not sure. But I was pretty amazed something Jane Austen wrote back in freaking 1813 could still make my heart flutter (yes, my heart is capable of fluttering). The overly proper, backwards writing was easier to understand than I’d expected. However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have to re-read

a couple sentences over a few times to figure out what the heck Austen was trying to say. Not that I want some modern-day translated version (although, I wouldn't mind another Clueless). If you haven't seen the 2005 film, abandon your laptop and rush to the nearest Blockbuster because it has to be my favorite movie of all time. Despite this, I couldn’t picture Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett while I was reading the book. Even bad hair extensions and an 18th century wardrobe can't make up for the fact that I've seen her rocking the emo boy haircut in Domino. On the other hand, the dreamy Matthew Macfadyen will always be my Mr. Darcy. Sigh.