--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The language I learned was pretty, full…" description: "\"“The language I learned was pretty, full of passivity and silence. I had no proper language for the issues of blood and anger, yet much of what went on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/beth-bagley-168783_anger_the-language-i-learned-was-pretty-full-o_1238576.jpg" --- # The language I learned was pretty, full of passivity and… ![“The language I learned was pretty, full of passivity and silence. I had no proper language for the issues of blood and anger, yet much of what went on when I was a child made me angry. There were no words a nice girl could use to describe anger; her options were to remain silent or to use…” quote by Beth Bagley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/beth-bagley-168783_anger_the-language-i-learned-was-pretty-full-o_1238576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/beth-bagley-168783_anger_the-language-i-learned-was-pretty-full-o_1238576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/beth-bagley-168783_anger_the-language-i-learned-was-pretty-full-o_1238576.jpg) > ““The language I learned was pretty, full of passivity and silence. I had no proper language for the issues of blood and anger, yet much of what went on when I was a child made me angry. There were no words a nice girl could use to describe anger; her options were to remain silent or to use indiscreet language, the kind that curls in a room like smoke and soon disappears. We girls were taught to speak safely and to bandage our anger with polite, pretty words. We might talk about the anger only in questions and sighs, unable to curse, yell or break windows in the beautiful garden.”” [Beth Bagley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-bagley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Girls are taught to suppress anger with polite language, leading to silence instead of direct expression. **In simple terms:** Polite words silence anger. Key Takeaway Encourage honest emotional expression. Themes gender language emotional suppression socialization Mood reflective somber Type social critique personal narrative When to use this quote - family upbringing - education - personal relationships Key Concepts feminist critique psychology communication studies Questions to Reflect On - What language could replace “polite” anger? - How does silence affect mental health? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated social norms is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Anger Polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger-polite-3858228/) [Angry words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry-words/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-learned-1306884/) [Pretty words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-words/) [Remain Silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remain-silent/) [Silencing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silencing/) [Talk Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-anger-3411889/) [Use Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-anger-966038/) ## Related quotes > [I get really angry when I get hungry. If you don't feed me, I won't talk to you. That's when my anger issues come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniela-bobadilla/i-get-really-angry-when-i-get-hungry-if-you-don-t-feed-me-i-won-t/) [Daniela Bobadilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniela-bobadilla/) > [“Oh that looked painful," called another Puck, a little farther down. "We really need to talk about your anger-management problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/oh-that-looked-painful-called-another-puck-a-little-farther-down-we/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [I don't speak Spanish, and I get so much crap for it. Oddly enough, it was the first language I learned, but somehow I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-guzman/i-don-t-speak-spanish-and-i-get-so-much-crap-for-it-oddly-enough-it/) [Ryan Guzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-guzman/) > [“A native tongue, in my opinion, isn't the language spoken where you were born or the first language you learned; it's a language that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adi-alsaid/a-native-tongue-in-my-opinion-isn-t-the-language-spoken-where-you/) [Adi Alsaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adi-alsaid/) > [“I learned your language and I learned your rules. I am more like you than me now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/i-learned-your-language-and-i-learned-your-rules-i-am-more-like-you/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) > [I hardly grew up mono-lingually! I was raised religious, so there's a tradition of semi-access to a second language. When I learned my ABCs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-hardly-grew-up-mono-lingually-i-was-raised-religious-so-there-s-a/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [“... you are never so smart again in a language learned in middle age nor so romantic, brave or kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/you-are-never-so-smart-again-in-a-language-learned-in-middle-age-nor/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [ Language \[can\] be expressed . . . by movements of the hands and face just as well as by the small, sound-generating movements of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-lane/language-can-be-expressed-by-movements-of-the-hands-and-face-just-as/) [Harlan Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-lane/) > [People are getting more used to another language; that's how I learned English and Spanish. I listened to other singers and tried to sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anitta/people-are-getting-more-used-to-another-language-that-s-how-i-learned/) [Anitta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anitta/) > [I did my first movie, 'The Mambo Kings,' in America without speaking the language. I learned the lines phonetically. I had an interpreter actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-banderas/i-did-my-first-movie-the-mambo-kings-in-america-without-speaking-the/) [Antonio Banderas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-banderas/) > [Willem de Kooning paintings are a language to be learned. When they were first shown, they were ridiculed as being just drips and splatters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/willem-de-kooning-paintings-are-a-language-to-be-learned-when-they/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [The first language that I learned was Italian in Italy in the early and middle-'60s and I had to do that to keep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-first-language-that-i-learned-was-italian-in-italy-in-the-early/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [“Islam was no longer a straitjacket into which I forced myself, nor a nonnative language I learned from others around me, but a grammar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haroon-moghul/islam-was-no-longer-a-straitjacket-into-which-i-forced-myself-nor-a/) [Haroon Moghul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haroon-moghul/) > [I grew up with the piano. I learned its language as I learned to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-grew-up-with-the-piano-i-learned-its-language-as-i-learned-to-speak/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [“All possible resources have to be used, so that you can learn to use your anger in such a way that it becomes compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/all-possible-resources-have-to-be-used-so-that-you-can-learn-to-use/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The language I learned was pretty, full of passivity and silence. I had no proper language for the issues of blood and anger, yet much of what went on when I was a child made me angry. There were no words a nice girl could use to describe anger; her options were to remain silent or to use indiscreet language, the kind that curls in a room like smoke and soon disappears. We girls were taught to speak safely and to bandage our anger with polite, pretty words. 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