Emma (1996 adaptation) Quotes

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Source: Emma (1996 adaptation)

Speaker: Emma Woodhouse

"I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control."

Certainly I can. I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control.

Context

This line is spoken by Emma Woodhouse, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, in the film Emma, directed by Douglas McGrath (1996).

Emma has been going through a lot of different potential men. First she's flirting with Frank. Then she's afraid that Harriet likes Frank. Then she doesn't care about Frank. Then she realizes Harriet likes Knightly—but that makes her realize that she likes Knightly…yowza.

This quote comes up when she's talking to the ever-wise Mr. Weston. She's afraid that Knightly will propose to Harriet…and she realizes she has all the feelings for him. What's a girl to do?

Where you've heard it

This quote in some ways epitomizes the idea of Emma.

Mr. Weston is telling her to be sensible, and she replies than she is always sensible (in typical Victorian—or really pre-Victorian—fashion) even though her heart is all out of whack.

Of course, in the following scene, we see that she is anything but rational. She tries not to think of Knightly, but everything makes her remember him. It appears emotion and reason are not as mutually exclusive as she suspects.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Quoting from a 90s movie adaptation instead of the original literary work is basically the opposite of pretentious. It's a lot easier to remember words you hear Gwyneth Paltrow say than it is to actually return to early 1800s source material. 

And the quote itself, although a little misguided, is totally innocent.