Why not seize the pleasure at once?—How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!
Frank’s line sparkles with spontaneity, the pose of a man who improvises charm. It celebrates immediacy, pushing back against cautious manners. Yet we later see the cost of his “pleasure at once”: his flirtation hides a secret engagement and hurts others. The repetition of “preparation” mocks prudence, but Austen shows prudence has a place. Readers feel the tug of carpe diem and the ache of its fallout. The device—question followed by emphatic answer—sells the mood like stage patter. For Emma, Frank’s lightness flatters her vanity; for Knightley, it rings hollow. The quote endures as a reminder that speed can be both thrill and cover.