Jane Austen Fans React To Pride And Prejudice Quote On New Bill Honoring Author

I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good,* but Jane Austen fans are busily mocking the new £10 note unveiled by the Bank of England Tuesday. The bill, which honors the English author who died 200 years ago, includes a quote from one of her most disliked characters.

Austen fans have not the pleasure of understanding* the choice to quote Caroline Bingley, a snooty socialite and polite antagonist for ‘Pride And Prejudice’ heroine Elizabeth Bennet, underneath an image of Austen on the plastic bill which will be released in September. (Austen also appears on a new limited edition £2 coin, sans quote.)

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“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” the quote reads. The designers of the currency apparently failed to realize that Miss Bingley in fact does not enjoy reading — which Austen makes brutally clear. The character’s pretentious line is part of her futile attempt to attract Mr. Darcy, the object of her (and readers’) affection and the love interest of Miss Bennet. During the memorable exchange, Mr. Darcy is engrossed in a book. Miss Bingley picks up the second volume of that book herself.

When she fails to get Mr. Darcy to converse with her, she yawns and mutters the quote that appears on the new bill, followed by, “How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! … When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”

Miss Bingley then tosses the book aside and continues with her stream of snarky commentary.

Austen fans, who love to make sport for their neighbors,* shared their own commentary on social media — the 21st-century version of a bustling drawing room.

Others were excessively diverted* by the situation.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney defended the decision to place Miss Bingley’s quote on the money. “It draws out some of the essence of her social satire and her insight into people’s character,” he said, according to Bloomberg.

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Carney said the words appearing underneath Austen’s portrait could be read straight, or a reader could see the irony — so “it works on multiple levels.”

Was not this some excuse for incivility?* The Janeites had their say, but we hope their good opinion, once lost, is not lost forever.*

*It is a truth universally acknowledged... that these are quotes from ‘Pride And Prejudice.’