This is a great example of where to use the passive voice. Austen reverses the sentence structure to pack the punch at the end.
In general, 2 good principles are:
1. Put the punch at the end of a sentence.
2. Put familiar information at the beginning of a sentence and new information toward the end.
The passive voice can help you with both of these design goals.
Orwell talked about where the passive voice is most dangerous/bad. It mainly comes down to thoughtlessness or insincerity. The passive voice removes or hides the actor, so it's useful for people trying to cloak their beliefs or hide assumptions.
"Politics and the English Language" is a great read, as is the book "Style."
In general, 2 good principles are:
1. Put the punch at the end of a sentence.
2. Put familiar information at the beginning of a sentence and new information toward the end.
The passive voice can help you with both of these design goals.
Orwell talked about where the passive voice is most dangerous/bad. It mainly comes down to thoughtlessness or insincerity. The passive voice removes or hides the actor, so it's useful for people trying to cloak their beliefs or hide assumptions.
"Politics and the English Language" is a great read, as is the book "Style."