"They have injured the finest mind!--for sometimes, Fanny, I own to you, it does appear more than manner; it appears as if the mind itself was tainted."

— Austen, Jane (1775-1817)


Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
T. Egerton
Date
1814
Metaphor
"They have injured the finest mind!--for sometimes, Fanny, I own to you, it does appear more than manner; it appears as if the mind itself was tainted."
Metaphor in Context
Edmund could not but agree to it. "Yes, that uncle and aunt! They have injured the finest mind!--for sometimes, Fanny, I own to you, it does appear more than manner; it appears as if the mind itself was tainted."

Fanny imagined this to be an appeal to her judgment, and therefore, after a moment's consideration, said, "If you only want me as a listener, cousin, I will be as useful as I can; but I am not qualified for an adviser. Do not ask advice of me. I am not competent."
(II.ix, p. 184)
Provenance
Searching "mind" in HDIS (Austen)
Citation
Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, ed. Claudia Johnson (New York: Norton, 1998). <Link to 1814 edition in Google Books>
Date of Entry
06/09/2011

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.