Quotations Weblog

I don’t know how I know this, but I do know that Jane Austen hates the town of Bath. She portrays it as a petty city that is only good for gossip and parties and balls. After reading all her works, I can most assuredly say that Jane Austen hates Bath.

I searched the entire catalog of Jane Austen novels using The Literature Page in search of a quotation to prove my supposition. There were 197 uses of the word “Bath” in her complete works. Discounting the “sea-bathing” and the “she took a bath” entries, I found a great many quotes pertaining to Bath:

These quotes are said by women that we should know are unwise.

The only clues that I have that Jane hates Bath are these few quotes:

All of Jane’s heroines love the country life, so this quote tells me that life in the country is decidedly better than it is in Bath.

This is probably the main reason I think that Jane Austen hates Bath. My favorite character from my favorite of her novels hates Bath. Jane must also.

Sadly, one perfect quote from Jane Austen saying her true feelings about Bath does not exist and I have to pick and gather to prove my point. I’ve heard it’s a nice place to live now, however.