Quotes About Staying Single, Sourced and Sorted by Mood

Quotes about staying single are lines that treat being unattached as a choice rather than a waiting room. One of the clearest comes from Jane Austen, who never married. In November 1814 she wrote to her niece Fanny Knight, who was weighing a proposal: “Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without Affection.”

Every quote below has a source. A few popular single-life lines carry the wrong name, and those are covered near the end.

Quotes about choosing to stay single

“Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without Affection.” — Jane Austen, letter to Fanny Knight, November 18, 1814. Austen spent most of the letter listing the suitor’s good qualities before telling Fanny not to accept him unless she really liked him. Fanny did not marry him.

“Fortune I do not want; employment I do not want; consequence I do not want.” — Emma Woodhouse in Jane Austen’s Emma, 1815, Volume 1, Chapter 10. She is explaining to Harriet Smith why she has no reason to marry. In the same conversation she says, “I have never been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall.” She is engaged by the end of the book.

“I will have here but one mistress, and no master.” — Elizabeth I, as reported by Robert Naunton in Fragmenta Regalia, published in 1641. It was her rebuke to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Elizabeth never married, despite years of pressure from Parliament to produce an heir.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” — Jane in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, 1847, Chapter 23. She says it to Mr. Rochester while she believes he is about to marry someone else.

Quotes about being alone without being lonely

“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” — Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854, from the chapter “Solitude.” Thoreau lived alone in a cabin at Walden Pond for a little over two years.

“Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of man’s being alone. It has created the word ‘loneliness’ to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word ‘solitude’ to express the glory of being alone.” — Paul Tillich, The Eternal Now, 1963. The German-American theologian made the distinction in a sermon titled “Loneliness and Solitude.”

“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is richness of self.” — May Sarton, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing, 1965. Sarton, a poet and novelist, lived alone for much of her life and wrote several journals about it.

“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.” — Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Book 1, “Of Solitude,” in Donald Frame’s translation. Montaigne wrote the essays after retiring to a tower library on his estate.

Funny quotes about staying single

“An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.” — Mr. Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, 1813, Chapter 20. Elizabeth turns down the proposal.

“Single Women have a dreadful propensity for being poor—which is one very strong argument in favour of Matrimony.” — Jane Austen, letter to Fanny Knight, March 13, 1817. It’s Austen being dry about her own situation, a few months before she died.

“Marry, and you will regret it. Do not marry, and you will also regret it.” — Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or, 1843, in the translation by Howard and Edna Hong. The passage goes on to cover laughing, crying and hanging yourself, with the same conclusion each time.

Helen Fielding’s 1996 novel Bridget Jones’s Diary gave single people two terms that stuck: “Singletons” for themselves and “Smug Marrieds” for the couples who ask why they’re still single at dinner parties.

Short staying single quotes for captions

These are unattributed, so you can use them without a credit.

“Table for one. Best seat in the house.”

“Single, and not taking applications.”

“My plus-one is a good book.”

“Booked, busy and fine with it.”

“Currently in a committed relationship with my weekend plans.”

“Not waiting for anyone to start living.”

Staying single quotes with the wrong name on them

“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” It is usually credited to Gloria Steinem. It was coined in 1970 by the Australian writer Irina Dunn, then a student at the University of Sydney, who wrote it on the doors of two toilets. Steinem credited Dunn herself in a letter to Time in 2000.

“Single is not a status. It is a word that best describes a person who is strong enough to live and enjoy life without depending on others.” This circulates on quote sites with a range of names attached, or none. We could not find a reliable original source, so run it unattributed.

Before printing any single-life quote with a name attached, check Wikiquote or Quote Investigator. Our guide to citing a quote from a person covers what to do when the original source can’t be found.

Where to use staying single quotes

Instagram captions are the most common use. The short unattributed lines fit a caption, and the Austen or Thoreau quotes work under a solo travel photo.

For Galentine’s Day on February 13, the funny section suits a card or a group chat. The holiday comes from a 2010 episode of Parks and Recreation, where Leslie Knope hosts a breakfast for her female friends.

For a friend who has just come out of a relationship, keep it gentle. The solitude quotes land better than the jokes in the first few weeks, and our tough times quotes cover the harder days. For the other side of the argument, our love is all you need quotes are sourced the same way.

FAQ

Who said “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle”?

Irina Dunn, an Australian writer and former senator, coined it in 1970. Gloria Steinem popularized it and has credited Dunn.

Did Jane Austen ever marry?

No. In 1802 she accepted a proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither, a family friend, and withdrew her acceptance the next morning. She stayed single until her death in 1817.

What is the difference between solitude and loneliness?

Loneliness is being alone and wishing you weren’t. Solitude is being alone by choice and finding it restful. Paul Tillich put it as the pain of being alone versus the glory of being alone.

What is a short quote about being happily single?

Thoreau’s “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude” is short, sourced and fits a caption.