Article image

13 Romantic Quotes From Beloved Period Pieces

When we’re craving some escapism, there’s nothing quite like a period piece to satisfy us. The windswept moors, flowery romantic language, and extravagant clothing are enough to make any of us wish we could live inside a Jane Austen novel.

Over the years, we’ve been treated to some especially decadent period pieces that have become cultural mainstays. One swoon-worthy scene from the 2005 Pride and Prejudice has achieved such popularity that it’s now simply referred to as “the hand flex scene.” And let’s not forget the 1995 Pride and Prejudice scene where Mr. Darcy takes a dip in a lake, which was immortalized in 2013 by a statue in London’s Hyde Park.

Nowadays, we also have wildly popular shows such as Bridgerton that have captured the attention of millions of viewers with their idyllic settings and passionate love stories. In times of hardship and uncertainty, it can be comforting to pop on movies and shows like these, where leisurely walks through picturesque gardens are the norm and everyone who’s meant to be together in the end surely will be.

To celebrate these charming tales, dear reader, we’ve gathered some dreamy quotes from 13 of our all-time favorite period pieces to sweep you off your feet.

I have never met anyone like you. It is maddening, how much you consume my very being … All I find myself thinking about, all I find myself being able to breathe for is you.
Lord Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) in “Bridgerton” (2020-present)

Share Quote

I have loved you since the moment I clapped eyes on you. What could be more reasonable than to marry you?
Laurie (Christian Bale) in “Little Women” (1994)

Share Quote

I can bear pain myself, but I couldna bear yours. That would take more strength than I have.
Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in “Outlander” (2014-present)

Share Quote

What value will there ever be in life, if we are not together?
Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) in “Becoming Jane” (2007)

Share Quote

I've been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.
Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) in “Pride and Prejudice” (1995)

Share Quote

I have lived a full life here. I have not been trampled on. I have not been petrified. I have not been excluded from every glimpse of what is bright. I have known you, Mr. Rochester, and it strikes me with anguish to be torn from you.
Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) in “Jane Eyre” (2011)

Share Quote

I would never be happy with anyone else as long as you walked the earth.
Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) in “Downton Abbey” (2010-2015)

Share Quote

He wants you for a possession, something to look at, like a painting or an ivory box. Something to own and to display. He doesn't want you to be real, and to think and to live. He doesn't love you. But I love you. I want you to have your own thoughts and ideas and feelings, even when I hold you in my arms.
George Emerson (Julian Sands) in “A Room With a View” (1985)

Share Quote

I've come here with no expectations, only to profess, now that I am at liberty to do so, that my heart is, and always will be, yours.
Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) in “Sense and Sensibility” (1995)

Share Quote

In solitude, I felt the liberty you spoke of. But I also felt your absence.
Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019)

Share Quote

I can become again the man who once crossed the surrey park at dusk, in my best suit, swaggering on the promise of life. The man who, with the clarity of passion, made love to you in the library. The story can resume. I will return. Find you, love you, marry you, and live without shame.
Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) in “Atonement” (2007)

Share Quote

I rode through the rain! I'd — I'd ride through worse than that if I could just hear your voice telling me that I might, at least, have some chance to win you.
Mr. Knightley (Jeremy Northam) in “Emma” (1996)

Share Quote

You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love — I love — I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.
Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) in “Pride and Prejudice” (2005)

Share Quote

Featured image credit: TV Times via Getty I,ages

Author image
About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Cleveland, Ohio.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "The struggle, like life itself, should be ___." - Miriam Miranda

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

My life is full of mistakes. They’re like pebbles that make a good road.

separator icon
Beatrice Wood
motivation theme icon

Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are.

separator icon
Gretel Ehrlich
hope theme icon

It is so easy to give, so exquisitely rewarding.

separator icon
John Steinbeck
love theme icon

The only thing people regret is that they didn’t live boldly enough, that they didn’t invest enough heart, didn’t love enough.

separator icon
Ted Hughes
wisdom theme icon

The struggle, like life itself, should be joyful.

separator icon
Miriam Miranda
happiness theme icon

Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.

separator icon
Bruce Lee
motivation theme icon

I was smart enough to go through any door that opened.

separator icon
Joan Rivers
hope theme icon

Optimism is a happiness magnet.

separator icon
Mary Lou Retton
love theme icon

Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature.

separator icon
Salvador Dalí
wisdom theme icon

You know the greatest thing is passion, without it what have you got?

separator icon
Diana Vreeland
happiness theme icon

It’s better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.

separator icon
Jackie Joyner-Kersee