“And no great harm if it does,” said Mr. Woodhouse. “The sooner every party breaks up, the better.”
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 25. Mr. Woodhouse is an eccentric with a fear of social events, especially large gatherings like the Coles’s dinner party. He makes this comment when Mr. Weston tries to persuade him to allow daughter Emma stay out late for the party, saying that when she leaves, the party will end. Austen uses Mr. Woodhouse for comic effect and to satirize the eccentricities of the English landed gentry.