We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.
Jane Austen Persuasion, Chapter VIII (1817)
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From Persuasion, Austen's last completed novel, published in 1817.
- Why
- Mrs. Croft says it while defending women's ability to bear hardship at sea.
What it means
Mrs. Croft speaks from experience: rough water is part of any life worth having.
Expecting it makes it easier to bear when it comes.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
Read the source
Persuasion, 1817
Your turn
What does this bring up for you?
Saved to this device only. Nothing is sent to a server.
Continue transfers only this reflection. Review your account before saving. Your original browser copy stays here.
Read next
There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXXI (1813)
Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.
Frankenstein, Chapter 23 (1818)
I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.
Jane Eyre, Chapter XXIII (1847)