“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”1 It is another truth that the opening sentence of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is considered among the most memorable in all fiction. Two years ago The Telegraph placed it at # 1 on the list of the top great opening lines in literature. The line is cited on similar lists: at about.com Classic Literature, at The Guardian, and at Sabotage Times. Indeed, it might be hard to find any list of the top 10 or 30 or 100 best opening lines in fiction that does not include Austen’s.
But how unique is it? To our ear it sounds fresh and lively. It is a zinger of the first order, prompting a few writers of Pride and Prejudice fan-fiction to use or adapt the opening line for their own purposes, perhaps none more daring than Seth Grahame-Smith, coauthor (with Jane Austen) of the outrageous, provoking and highly entertaining Regency romance, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Oh, he kept the truth bit—who would not?—but he put his own special spin on the remainder: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”2
Grahame-Smith’s mention of zombies mirrors today’s obsession with undead creatures in literature, art and film. Likewise Jane Austen’s opening line was shaped by the society in which she lived, and it was not entirely unique. The opening phrase “it is a truth universally acknowledged” or something like it appears to have been a popular expression. I first came across a similar phrase while browsing the February 1811 issue of The Gentleman’s Magazine. I had been reading the list of marriages when my eye was drawn to the section titled “Additions and Corrections,” where I read the following: “It is universally allowed that no professional man ever rendered more substantial services to the agriculture of his country than the late Mr. Kent.”3 Whether or not the statement is true, I instantly recalled the opening line of Pride and Prejudice and believed it to be a coincidence.
Later, when I was researching Tilly’s birthing for my novel, Rosings Park, I read much of Thomas Denman’s 1807 book on midwifery. In the section on conception and pregnancy, I found this statement: “It is an opinion almost universally received, that if a woman with child should have the small-pox, and miscarry . . . it would necessarily prove fatal to the mother.”4 Well! Poor woman—to lose a child and then succumb herself to smallpox. A sad outcome all around, although perhaps not uncommon in the early 1800s. But note the similarity between Denman’s opening phrase and Austen’s.
When reading John Reid’s 1806 book on consumption, I came across the following sentence in a footnote: “. . . it is a fact universally known, that contagious diseases are not to be communicated by the interchange of the vital fluid.”5 The vital fluid Reid refers to is blood. (Today we know that some diseases—among them HIV/AIDS and the Ebola virus disease—can be transmitted by contact with an infected person’s vital fluid or blood.)
Three instances begin to look like a trend. The phrase “it is a fact/opinion universally allowed/known/received” must have been a common expression in Austen’s time. Her use of it should come as no surprise, for we are all products of our environment. The important thing is that Austen took this popular construction, tweaked it, and made it her own by stating a plain truth: a man of good fortune must need a wife. Everybody recognizes the universal truth of her observation, which is why it resonates with readers today.
Sources:
1Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Penguin Classics, 1996, p. 5.
2Grahame-Smith, Seth and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2009, p. 7.
3The Gentleman’s Magazine. Additions and Corrections. Vol. LXXX, Part II., February, 1811, p. 132 (PDF p. 201).
4Denman, Thomas. An Introduction to the Practice of Midwifery. (Brattleborough, 1807), p. 143 (PDF p. 182).
5Reid, John. A Treatise on the Origin, Progress, Prevention, and Treatment of Consumption. (London, 1806), p. 191 (PDF p. 212).