Oh! to be sure," cried Emma, "it is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage. A man always imagines a woman to be ready for any body who asks her.

Austen's letter marked "Declined by Return of Post". It is unlike any of Austen's other works. Marriage was impractical as both Lefroy and Austen must have known.

She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer. Her realism and biting social commentary have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.