--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [The Golden Notebook] was not a trumpet…" description: "\"[The Golden Notebook] was not a trumpet for Women's Liberation. It described many female emotions of aggression, hostility, resentment. It put them int..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/doris-lessing-501_aggression_the-golden-notebook-was-not-a-trumpet-fo_1561542.png" --- # \[The Golden Notebook\] was not a trumpet for Women's… ![“[The Golden Notebook] was not a trumpet for Women's Liberation. It described many female emotions of aggression, hostility, resentment. It put them into print. Apparently what many women were thinking, feeling, experiencing, came as a great surprise. Instantly a lot of very ancient weapons were…” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/doris-lessing-501_aggression_the-golden-notebook-was-not-a-trumpet-fo_1561542.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/doris-lessing-501_aggression_the-golden-notebook-was-not-a-trumpet-fo_1561542.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/002/doris-lessing-501_aggression_the-golden-notebook-was-not-a-trumpet-fo_1561542.png) > “\[The Golden Notebook\] was not a trumpet for Women's Liberation. It described many female emotions of aggression, hostility, resentment. It put them into print. Apparently what many women were thinking, feeling, experiencing, came as a great surprise. Instantly a lot of very ancient weapons were unleashed, the main ones, as usual, being on the theme of "She is unfeminine", "She is a man-hater".” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The book revealed women's suppressed anger and resentment, challenging societal expectations and sparking backlash. **In simple terms:** It exposed hidden female emotions, provoking strong reactions. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and discuss women's complex feelings. Themes feminism gender emotions literature social critique Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical literary When to use this quote - academic discussion - gender studies - book clubs - mental health awareness Key Concepts Patriarchal norms emotional repression cultural backlash Questions to Reflect On - How can literature help surface suppressed emotions? - What impact does labeling women as “unfeminine” have? A Different Perspective Some readers may dismiss the emotions as exaggerated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Apparently Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparently-women-1969811/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotions Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions-aggression-5858938/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Female Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-emotions-630954/) [Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden/) [Golden notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-notebook/) [Hostility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostility/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Man hater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-hater/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notebook/) [Print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/print/) [Resentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resentment/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trumpets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trumpets/) [Unleashed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unleashed/) [Usual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usual/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) [Women Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-thinking-1275379/) ## Related quotes > [“Apparently women are phenomenal creature, but to be contented with ones own beauty is a risk only few can take.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-okafor/apparently-women-are-phenomenal-creature-but-to-be-contented-with/) [Lawrence Okafor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-okafor/) > [“We don’t need an invitation to be real. The truth is: we don’t need permission to own the power of what makes us unique,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-mildon/we-don-t-need-an-invitation-to-be-real-the-truth-is-we-don-t-need/) [Emma Mildon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-mildon/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/meantime-other-feminist-bibles-had-appeared-simone-de-beauvoir-s-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [We spend our lives fighting to get people very slightly more stupid than ourselves to accept truths that the great men have always known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/we-spend-our-lives-fighting-to-get-people-very-slightly-more-stupid-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [we have not yet developed a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/we-have-not-yet-developed-a-system-of-education-that-is-not-a-system/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: "You are in the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/ideally-what-should-be-said-to-every-child-repeatedly-throughout-his-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The Golden Notebook for some reason surprised people but it was no more than you would hear women say in their kitchens every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-golden-notebook-for-some-reason-surprised-people-but-it-was-no/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [ None of you \[men\] ask for anything - except everything, but just for so long as you need it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/none-of-you-men-ask-for-anything-except-everything-but-just-for-so/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [One novel in five hundred or a thousand has the quality a novel should have to make it a novel -- the quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/one-novel-in-five-hundred-or-a-thousand-has-the-quality-a-novel/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [ “The thought \[behind the Golden Notebook\] was that to divide off and compartmentalize living was dangerous and led to nothing but trouble. Old, young,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-thought-behind-the-golden-notebook-was-that-to-divide-off-and/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The novel has become a function of the fragmented society, the fragmented consciousness. Human beings are so divided, are becoming more and more divided,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-novel-has-become-a-function-of-the-fragmented-society-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Women: I liked the colors of their clothing; the way they walked; the cruelty in some faces; now and then the almost pure beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/women-i-liked-the-colors-of-their-clothing-the-way-they-walked-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I see so many women thinking other women are their enemies - especially when they don't have a job or a guy or whatever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-wells/i-see-so-many-women-thinking-other-women-are-their-enemies-especially/) [Noel Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-wells/) > [“Women: i liked the color of their clothing; the ay they alked; the cruelty in some faces; now and then the almost pure beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/women-i-liked-the-color-of-their-clothing-the-ay-they-alked-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [To any young women out there who might be thinking about taking up darts, I would just say, 'Go for it.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fallon-sherrock/to-any-young-women-out-there-who-might-be-thinking-about-taking-up/) [Fallon Sherrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fallon-sherrock/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-remember-world-war-ii-when-there-were-very-few-books-very-little/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/while-she-strode-rapidly-through-the-ward-to-the-door-at-the-other/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think that marriage is one of my talents. I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Aggression quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-nothing-in-our-history-or-position-to-invite-aggression-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Boxing can be so important to young people, it keeps you off the street and you can channel your energy and aggression in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-benn/boxing-can-be-so-important-to-young-people-it-keeps-you-off-the/) [Nigel Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-benn/) > [“That which is of great value cannot be attained through aggression. You will be able to find the mystery of life only if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/that-which-is-of-great-value-cannot-be-attained-through-aggression/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/a-society-that-presumes-a-norm-of-violence-and-celebrates-aggression/) [Lewis H. 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My clients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-peterson/i-really-like-battle-ropes-they-re-so-versatile-you-can-get-a/) [Gunnar Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-peterson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [I'm not going to appeal to violence or aggression - of course not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/i-m-not-going-to-appeal-to-violence-or-aggression-of-course-not/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [This is passive-aggression in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/this-is-passive-aggression-in-action/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [When a child hits a child, we call it aggression. When a child hits an adult, we call it hostility. 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