Mrs. Weston Quotes

“I shall not allow you to be a fair judge in this case. You are so much used to live alone, that you do not know the value of a companion; and perhaps no man can be a good judge of the comfort a woman feels in the society of one of her own sex, after being used to it all her life.”

– Jane Austen

Emma, Chapter 5. When Mr. Knightley criticizes the intimacy between Emma and Harriet as a bad thing, Mrs. Weston defends their friendship. Presenting a woman’s view on the value female companionship, she speaks of how women without men develop their own society and get comfort from one another.

“Why really, dear Emma, I say that he is so very much occupied by the idea of not being in love with her, that I should not wonder if it were to end in his being so at last.”

– Jane Austen

Emma, Chapter 33. Mrs. Weston thinks that Mr. Knightley’s preoccupation with the idea of not being in love with Jane Fairfax is a sign they will end up in love. This is another example of the misperceptions characters in the story have in the face of reality. Mrs. Weston’s statement is also ironic, because Mr. Knightley is hiding his true feelings – but for Emma, not Jane.
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