Meantime, other “feminist bibles”had appeared, Simone de…
““Meantime, other “feminist bibles”had appeared, Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex being the best. Which brings me to something no one believes. When I wrote The Golden Notebook it never occurred to me I was writing “a feminist bible.”The sixties feminists were not the first in the arena. “The Woman Question”dated from the fifteenth century. In communist circles in the forties and fifties feminist issues were much discussed. But the second sentence of The Golden Notebook is: “‘The point is,’said Anna, ‘as far as I can see, everything is cracking up.’“This is what I thought The Golden Notebook was about, as its “structure”said. Everything was cracking up, and by now it is easily seen that we live in a fast-fragmenting culture. So I became “a feminist icon.”But what had I said in The Golden Notebook? That any kind of singlemindedness, narrowness, obsession, was bound to lead to mental disorder, if not madness. (This may be observed most easily in religion and politics.)””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The author reflects on how her work unintentionally became a feminist symbol, noting the fragmentation of culture and the danger of single‑mindedness.
In simple terms: Her book became a feminist icon, warning against narrow obsessions.
Key Takeaway
Beware of rigid thinking that leads to distress.
Themes
feminism
culture
mental health
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
analytical
When to use this quote
- academia
- political discourse
- personal growth
Key Concepts
fragmentation
identity
intellectual rigidity
Questions to Reflect On
- How does cultural fragmentation affect you?
- What balance prevents obsessive thinking?
A Different Perspective
May generalize mental health risks.