100 Best Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ Movie Quotes

Netflix’s new film Persuasion is an adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel. Anne Elliot, played by Dakota Johnson, is trying to mend her broken heart after she rejects the love of Frederick Wentworth.

Eight years have gone by since she was persuaded to end things with him, but she is filled with regret over her decision. Suddenly, Wentworth appears back into Anne’s life as she tries to figure out her feelings for him.

This adaptation places a comedic spin on the novel while maintaining the feel of a classic period piece which makes every moment captivating.

If you enjoy watching period pieces with a comedic twist, then Persuasion is the movie for you! 

Here’s the scoop on the best quotes from the movie, Persuasion!

1. “I almost got married once. Wentworth held my heart… but he was a sailor without rank or fortune and I was persuaded to give him up.” – Anne Elliot 

2. “I’m so close to death, I can feel my organs decomposing.” –Mary Elliot 

3. “I am half agony, half hope.” – Frederick Wentworth 

4. “And this cowbell, whose sad, empty knell best captures my melancholy.” -Anne Elliot 

5. “I think Bath Elizabeth should be less sophisticated than London Elizabeth but not as free-spirited as country Elizabeth.”  – Elizabeth Elliot 

6. “There’s nothing worse than thinking your life is ruined and then realizing you’ve got much, much further to fall.” -Anne Elliot 

7. “You will find the one that’s meant for you, the one who loves you enough to fight for you.” -Lady Russell 

8. “I told him about the time your eye got so infected it swelled shut for a week and then we all called you Blackbeard.” -Mary Elliot 

9. “I don’t like the idea of my shrubberies being enjoyed by others.” – Sir Walter Elliot 

10. “It is often said if you’re a five in London, you’re a ten in Bath.” -Penelope

11. “The truest evidence of an inferior mind is to allow oneself to be persuaded away from one’s deepest convictions.” -Frederick Wentworth 

12. “I can build a house out of driftwood, but don’t ever ask me about the Greeks.” -Captain Harville

13. “Love me or kill me now! I can’t bear it!” -Anne Elliot 

14. “No life is without worry.” -Louisa

15. “The thing about me is, I am an empath.” -Mary Elliot

16. “Your arrogance will bankrupt them all.” – Lady Russell 

17. “I wanted to leave you out entirely, but daddy thought people might think you had died.”  – Elizabeth Elliot 

18. “One’s family is only escapable by two things, marriage, and death. Both seem unlikely in the immediate future.” -Anne Elliot 

19. “The next time you witness Miss Elliot quietly installing herself on the outskirts of some social situation, consider whether she might assume this vantage in order to judge everyone around her.” – Frederick Wentworth 

20. “What I’ve realized is I need to fall in love with myself first and then I can truly love those around me, and that’s all there is to it.” -Mary Elliot 

21. “Do you know whose company I enjoy? My own.” – Lady Russell

22. “Because he’s a ten. I never trust a ten.” -Anne Elliot 

23. “Mr. Elliot is on his way and I want him to see what I look like next to you.” -Elizabeth Elliot 

24. “Quick! Break out your finest frocks. We are about to touch… greatness.” -Sir Walter Elliot 

25 “Sometimes, I have this dream that a giant octopus is sucking my face and, as I struggle to get free, I realize that my hands are tentacles, and I can’t push it off. And then I realize of course that I am the octopus, and I am sucking my own face.”  -Anne Elliot 

26. “So often those we perceive as our greatest adversaries are just shadow versions of ourselves.”  -Mr. Elliot 

27. “It’s as if his suffering was keeping my sister alive somehow.” – Captain Harville

28. “The journey gave me a dead leg. I need you to massage it.” -Mary Elliot 

29. “Mr. Elliot could attach to a potato if it suited him.” -Anne Elliot 

30. “Why must everyone always assume that all women want is to be chosen by any eligible bachelor?” -Anne Elliot 

31. “I’ve lived with a thousand different imagined versions of you over the years.” -Frederick Wentworth 

32. “How is it that life can remain static, almost obstinately resistant to any change for years at a time, and then without warning become flooded with so much newness within the course of a few weeks?”  -Anne Elliot 

33. “There’s a reason widowed men die soonest and unmarried women live longest. We’re great company.” -Lady Russell 

34. “Encouraging that, though her organs rot, her personality remains as fresh as ever.” -Henrietta

35. “I heard he once redirected an entire flotilla to save a beached whale.” -Louisa

36. “Just to be clear, you disapprove of him for your sister-in-law because he is not wealthy enough?” -Frederick Wentworth 

37. “I spend my time drinking fine wines, enjoying warm baths, and lying face down on my bed.” -Anne Elliot 

38. “A woman without a husband is not a problem to be solved.” – Mrs. Craft

39. “All that is meant for one is to find one.” -Captain Harville 

40. “Now we’re worse than exes. We’re friends.” -Anne Elliot 

41. “I’m jumping, so either catch me or don’t.” -Louisa

42. “I’m never quite sure whether you’re insulting me, or not but I value your regard so little that I don’t mind either way.” -Elizabeth Elliot 

43. “It’s a decided step up from passerby but still a bit short of ‘most beloved’ but I am willing to work for my titles.” -Mr. Elliot 

44. “I must rely on the instructions issued by my own heart. I tried the alternative once and I’ll never forgive myself for it.” -Anne Elliot 

45. “My doctor thinks I might benefit from embodying gratitude.” -Mary Elliot 

46. “Anne, you pierce my soul.” -Frederick Wentworth

47. “His cold politeness and ceremonious grace are worse than anything.” -Anne Elliot

48. “It’s not a picnic without macaroons.” – Lady Russell 

49. “Anne, don’t be deliberately dense.” -Sir Walter Wentworth 

50. “He could be an admiral someday, a great service to the Crown and all that it holds dear, but instead, he’d rather fart around inland for the rest of his life.” -Captain Harville

51. “Nobody tells you when you’re young that life keeps going.” -Anne Elliot 

52. “You’re far too good for me and I’m terrified but I want very much to make you my wife.” -Mr. Elliot 

53. “Then, just when he starts to seem interested, don’t respond to a single thing he says as though you’re a ghost.” -Louisa

54. “Who needs romance when one has… family?” -Anne

55. “See things my way, then change them until they are different.” -Sir Walter Elliot 

56. “I genuinely hope you find love wherever you need to find it and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your offer of friendship.” –Frederick Wentworth

57. “Cousin is a term most accurately applied to those within one’s family tree, not those within one’s family forest.” -Anne Elliot 

58. “If there is anything disagreeable going on, men are sure to get out of it.” -Mary Elliot 

59. “In fact, in moments I’ve wondered if it wasn’t my sister’s spirit in the wind that caused Louisa to slip knowing somehow eventually where she would land.” -Captain Harville

60. “We women do not forget you as soon as you forget us.” -Anne Elliot 

61. “It angers me that the world denies you the chance of public life. You’d make a great admiral.” – Frederick Wentworth

62. “I often think it is the great misfortune of poetry that it’s seldom enjoyed safely by those capable of enjoying it completely.” -Anne Elliot 

63. “Ever since Louisa’s accident, life just seems so fragile and fleeting.” -Mary Elliot 

64. “I love a little bit of family gossip.” -Henrietta 

65. “You lied when you told me time would heal me of my pain.” -Anne Elliot

66. “It was on account of being struck by this dazzling creature.” -Mr. Elliot 

67. “My love for you has never faltered.” – Frederick Wentworth 

68. “Don’t let anyone tell you how to live or who to love. I learned the hard way.” -Anne Elliot

69. “What’s the source of his sorrow? Home from Troy and there’s another man in his bed?” -Anne Elliot 

70. “Anyone between the ages of 18 and 80 may have me for the asking.” – Frederick Wentworth 

71. “Father, true reputation comes from honesty, integrity, compassion, acceptance of responsibility for the welfare of others.” – Anne Elliot 

72. “Are you trying to go somewhere without me and gesturing to my sister to keep it a secret?” -Mary Elliot 

73. “Mary is preferable to Elizabeth in that she’s a total narcissist.” -Anne Elliot 

74. “It was my understanding Mary that you suffered from an allergy to houses of fewer than five servants. Aren’t you worried you’ll contract something?” -Frederick Wentworth 

75. “I’m angry with myself for … being persuaded.” -Anne Elliot 

76. “I led her to believe I was a person who was prepared to catch her.” -Frederick Wentworth

77. “It’s common knowledge that households employing fewer than five servants are unsanitary.” -Mary Elliot 

78. “Women love beyond all sensible limits.” -Anne Elliot 

79. “And me, middle child, the crack in his looking glass.”  -Anne Elliot 

80. “Well, I won’t tell anyone how painfully easy nautical navigation is.” -Anne Elliot 

81. “Had this not occurred, one can only imagine what our lives might have been.” -Frederick Wentworth 

82. “It’s okay to find love on your terms however unorthodox.” -Anne Elliot 

83. “Don’t worry darling, he’s just practicing on me.” -Anne Elliot 

84. “Pardon me, I’m experiencing joy.” -Sir Walter Elliot 

85. “Because anyone that attractive must have an angle.” -Anne Elliot 

86. “Don’t patronize her by deciding for her what worries she can and cannot endure.” -Anne Elliot 

87. “The one thing my father loves more than himself is spending money.” -Anne Elliot 

88. “We must entrust that to providence. That means I haven’t yet made up my mind.” -Anne Elliot 

89. “You know, you’re beginning to grow on me.” -Anne Elliot 

90. “He listens with his whole body. It’s electrifying.” -Anne Elliot 

91. “Charles wanted to marry me first.” -Anne Elliot 

92. “What good is anything if you have to earn it?” – Sir Walter Elliot

93. “Alone in my room with a bottle of red.” -Anne Elliot 

94. “Your hair remains intact.” -Anne Elliot 

95. “He was a corpse when they met so perhaps the transition escaped her attention.” -Anne Elliot 

96. “I wish you both every happiness.” -Anne Elliot 

97. “Anne Elliot is pure kindness.” -Louisa

98. “In other words… hope springs eternal.” -Anne Elliot 

99. “He means to disarm me with candor. -Anne Elliot 

100. “It’s made me realize how important it is to spend time away from one’s children.” -Mary Elliot 

Did you know that Henry Golding from Crazy Rich Asians stars in Persuasion?

Hope you loved these movie quotes from Persuasion!

Watch this summertime romance on Netflix now!

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