---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the older we get, the more we understand…"
description: "\"“the older we get, the more we understand that the women who know and love us - and love us despite what they know about us - are the joists that hold ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/anna-quindlen-467_feminism_the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand_2751609.jpg"
---

#  the older we get, the more we understand that the women…

![“the older we get, the more we understand that the women who know and love us - and love us despite what they know about us - are the joists that hold up the house of our existence.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/anna-quindlen-467_feminism_the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand_2751609.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/anna-quindlen-467_feminism_the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand_2751609.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/anna-quindlen-467_feminism_the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand_2751609.jpg)

> ““the older we get, the more we understand that the women who know and love us - and love us despite what they know about us - are the joists that hold up the house of our existence.””

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Women who love us unconditionally are the foundation of our personal stability.

**In simple terms:** Supportive women are our foundation.

Key Takeaway

Cherish and support those women.

Themes

relationships support family love dependence

Mood

grateful reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- marriage
- friendships
- parenting
- caregiving

Key Concepts

sociology emotional intelligence

Questions to Reflect On

- Who are your foundational supporters?
- How do you reciprocate their support?

A Different Perspective

Some may feel dependent rather than empowered.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [Despite of us not being together.. We both know we still have each other.. You have my heart &amp; I have your heart with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-lobedica/despite-of-us-not-being-together-we-both-know-we-still-have-each/)

[Joanne Lobedica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-lobedica/)

> [And despite everything I know now, I still believe, as I did when I was little, that there is an entire universe of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-center/and-despite-everything-i-know-now-i-still-believe-as-i-did-when-i-was/)

[Katherine Center](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-center/)

> [Despite everything we know about photo manipulation, a photo is still considered an objective document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/despite-everything-we-know-about-photo-manipulation-a-photo-is-still/)

[Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/)

> [Despite all that I know rationally, and everything that I can put into words, I can say that I have difficulty giving up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/despite-all-that-i-know-rationally-and-everything-that-i-can-put-into/)

[Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/)

> [“The women I know who are happiest today are the ones who have close female friends. Maybe that’s true of men, too, but essentially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/the-women-i-know-who-are-happiest-today-are-the-ones-who-have-close/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [All the women I know feel a little like outlaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/all-the-women-i-know-feel-a-little-like-outlaws/)

[Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/)

> [Some women do not know what they are worth and some men do not know what they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-women-do-not-know-what-they-are-worth-and-some-men-do-not-know/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“And, I want other women to know they can stand up and MUST stand up to your persecutors. Feel the fear, and do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/and-i-want-other-women-to-know-they-can-stand-up-and-must-stand-up-to/)

[Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/)

> [A lot of the women I know, that's what they're complaining about either the man in their life or the lack of a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-cherry/a-lot-of-the-women-i-know-that-s-what-they-re-complaining-about/)

[Marc Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-cherry/)

> [I demanded more rights for women because I know what women had to put up with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evita-peron/i-demanded-more-rights-for-women-because-i-know-what-women-had-to-put/)

[Evita Peron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evita-peron/)

> [“What Men Want Women to Know No. 22 If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of these ways makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-men-want-women-to-know-no-22-if-something-we-said-can-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The women I know who have gone through breast cancer still laugh a lot. They're not crying all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/the-women-i-know-who-have-gone-through-breast-cancer-still-laugh-a/)

[Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/)

> [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“There are women who will never get to know their fathers and won't get over it. There are women who have had to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-van-jordan/there-are-women-who-will-never-get-to-know-their-fathers-and-won-t/)

A. Van Jordan

> [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

## More by Anna Quindlen

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

[Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

## More Feminism quotes

> [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/)

[Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/)

> [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/)

[Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/)

> [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/)

Joseph Joffre

> [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/)

[Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/)

> [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/)

[Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/)

> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/)

[Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/)

> [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/)

[Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/)

> [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

[Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“the older we get, the more we understand that the women who know and love us - and love us despite what they know about us - are the joists that hold up the house of our existence.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anna Quindlen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand-that-the-women-who-know-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Feminism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand-that-the-women-who-know-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/anna-quindlen-467_feminism_the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand_2751609.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/anna-quindlen-467_feminism_the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand_2751609.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/anna-quindlen-467_feminism_the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand_2751609.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“the older we get, the more we understand that the women who know and love us - and love us despite what they…” — Anna Quindlen",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Anna Quindlen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“the older we get, the more...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand-that-the-women-who-know-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/the-older-we-get-the-more-we-understand-that-the-women-who-know-and/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
