“ It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy; it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others. ”
Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility (1811). copy citation
| Author | Jane Austen |
|---|---|
| Source | Sense and Sensibility |
| Topic | time intimacy disposition |
| Date | 1811 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21839/21839-h/21839-h.htm |
Context
“"You are mistaken, Elinor," said she warmly, "in supposing I know very little of Willoughby. I have not known him long indeed, but I am much better acquainted with him, than I am[50] with any other creature in the world, except yourself and mama. It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy; it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others. I should hold myself guilty of greater impropriety in accepting a horse from my brother, than from Willoughby. Of John I know very little, though we have lived together for years; but of Willoughby my judgment has long been formed."”
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Meaning and analysis
