Margaret Oliphant was another important writer whose criticism of Austen did not have much influence . She described Austen as `` armed with a ` fine vein of feminine cynicism , ' ` full of subtle power , keenness , finesse , and self-restraint ( control ) , ' with an ` exquisite sense ' of the ` ridiculous , ' ' a fine stinging yet soft-voiced contempt , ' whose works are very ` calm and cold and keen ' '' . Another prominent writer whose Austen criticism was ignored , novelist Margaret Oliphant , described Austen in almost proto-feminist terms , as `` armed with a ` fine vein of feminine cynicism , ' ` full of subtle power , keenness , finesse , and self-restraint , ' blessed with an ` exquisite sense ' of the ` ridiculous , ' ' a fine stinging yet soft-voiced contempt , ' whose novels are ` so calm and cold and keen ' '' .