I love this quote! Austen is writing to her niece, Fanny. Fanny had forced one of her suitors to read her Aunt Jane’s books without telling him who the author was (she wrote them anonymously, and the books only said, “By a Lady”). He, apparently, thought that the young ladies in her stories should have been better behaved. So Austen replies, “Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked.” Which is one of the things I love about her stories. She also told Fanny to fess up to her suitor and not to force him to read any more of her books.
Read more of my thoughts on Darcy’s imperfections over at Darcyholic Diversions.
