Woman, self-centred, would never be absorbed by any…
““Woman, self-centred, would never be absorbed by any relation.” The “excessive devotion” that results when women live “so entirely for men,” when a woman makes marriage “her whole existence”—or, as Sophia Hawthorne had phrased it, her “true destiny”—Margaret argued, has “cooled love, degraded marriage, and prevented either sex from being what it should be to itself or the other.” Woman “must be able to stand alone.” Marriage should be to woman, as it is to man, “only an experience.” While women sometimes wished to be men in order to partake of their freedoms and opportunities, “men never,” Margaret observed, “in any extreme of despair, wished to be women.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Margaret argues that women must retain independence and not define themselves solely through marriage, lest love and marriage degrade.
In simple terms: Women need autonomy, not total devotion to men.
Key Takeaway
Cultivate self-reliance.
Themes
independence
gender roles
marriage
identity
Mood
reflective
determined
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- personal development
- relationship counseling
- career planning
- educational curricula
Key Concepts
feminism
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- How can societies support women’s autonomy?
- What structures reinforce women’s self‑centredness?
A Different Perspective
Women may still face societal pressure to prioritize relationships over self.