This wry remark from Jane Austen defends the value and pleasure of reading novels at a time when the genre was often dismissed as frivolous or morally suspect. By equating a lack of enjoyment in good novels with "intolerable stupidity," Austen playfully flips the social hierarchy that placed poetry and history above fiction. The quote reflects her own commitment to the novel as a serious art form capable of psychological depth, wit, and moral insight.