--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What women would do if they could not…" description: "\"What women would do if they could not cry, nobody knows. What poor, defenceless creatures they would be!\" — Douglas William Jerrold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/douglas-william-jerrold-9046_creatures_what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cr_2826214.png" --- # What women would do if they could not cry, nobody knows… ![“What women would do if they could not cry, nobody knows. What poor, defenceless creatures they would be!” quote by Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/douglas-william-jerrold-9046_creatures_what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cr_2826214.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/douglas-william-jerrold-9046_creatures_what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cr_2826214.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/douglas-william-jerrold-9046_creatures_what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cr_2826214.png) > “What women would do if they could not cry, nobody knows. What poor, defenceless creatures they would be!” [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If women could not cry, they would be vulnerable and powerless, highlighting emotional expression as strength. **In simple terms:** Women would be powerless without tears. Key Takeaway Recognize emotional expression as strength. Themes gender emotions vulnerability Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - social expectations - mental health discussions Key Concepts Victorian society feminist critique Questions to Reflect On - How does society shape emotional norms? - Can vulnerability be a source of power? A Different Perspective Not all cultures view crying similarly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Defenceless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defenceless-257079/) [Defenceless Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defenceless-creatures-3626340/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Nobody knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobody-knows/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor Defenceless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-defenceless-3626341/) [Weeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeping/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [“He who is mindless is defenceless” RjS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/he-who-is-mindless-is-defenceless-rjs/) [rassool jibraeel snyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/) > [“Even a lamb can defend itself, but a tree cannot even do that. If you are a just person, you never harm any tree,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/even-a-lamb-can-defend-itself-but-a-tree-cannot-even-do-that-if-you/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [A man who has no excuse for a crime, is indeed defenceless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/a-man-who-has-no-excuse-for-a-crime-is-indeed-defenceless/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [The human race's prospects of survival were considerably better when we were defenceless against tigers than they are today when we have become defenceless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/the-human-race-s-prospects-of-survival-were-considerably-better-when/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [When someone abuses me I can defend myself, but against praise I am defenceless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/when-someone-abuses-me-i-can-defend-myself-but-against-praise-i-am/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“We humans are so defenceless compared to the rest of the natural world, he thought to himself. We have no shell to protect us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-suzuma/we-humans-are-so-defenceless-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-natural/) [Tabitha Suzuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-suzuma/) > [If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's web server, you're defenceless. You're putty in the hands of whoever developed that software.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/if-you-use-a-proprietary-program-or-somebody-else-s-web-server-you-re/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [Eating, drinking, sleeping a little laughter ! much weeping! Is that all ? Do not die here like a worm. Wake up! Attain immortal bliss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/eating-drinking-sleeping-a-little-laughter-much-weeping-is-that-all/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [“Sounds of weeping and sobbing reverberated, deep, painful, as much as I felt it, it was heard. صوت بكائي ترددت أصداؤه بإنتحاب عميق ومؤلم ، بقدر ما أحسست به كان مسموعاً”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amany-al-hallaq/sounds-of-weeping-and-sobbing-reverberated-deep-painful-as-much-as-i/) [Amany Al-Hallaq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amany-al-hallaq/) > [Instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird's life, it sings away its grief. I believe we could well follow the pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/instead-of-weeping-when-a-tragedy-occurs-in-a-songbird-s-life-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I do not know when I am more perfectly happy than when I am weeping for sin at the foot of the cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-do-not-know-when-i-am-more-perfectly-happy-than-when-i-am-weeping/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And then theres always the crying and the weeping that we hear-children, women, even men. And these images and these sounds are always with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/and-then-theres-always-the-crying-and-the-weeping-that-we-hear/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [I was haunted always by my other life-my drab room in the Bronx, my square foot of the subway, my fixation upon the day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-haunted-always-by-my-other-life-my-drab-room-in-the-bronx-my/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Douglas William Jerrold > [Self-defense is the clearest of all laws, and for this reason: lawyers didn't make it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/self-defense-is-the-clearest-of-all-laws-and-for-this-reason-lawyers/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Slugs crawl and crawl over our cabbages, like the world's slander over a good name. You may kill them, it is true; but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/slugs-crawl-and-crawl-over-our-cabbages-like-the-world-s-slander-over/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Patience is the strongest of strong drinks; for it kills the giant despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/patience-is-the-strongest-of-strong-drinks-for-it-kills-the-giant/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Humor is the harmony of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/humor-is-the-harmony-of-the-heart/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Love the sea? I dote upon it--from the beach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/love-the-sea-i-dote-upon-it-from-the-beach/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Modesty is a bright dish-cover, which makes us fancy there is something very nice underneath it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/modesty-is-a-bright-dish-cover-which-makes-us-fancy-there-is/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Reputations, like beavers and cloaks, shall last some people twice the time of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/reputations-like-beavers-and-cloaks-shall-last-some-people-twice-the/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [He is one of those wise philanthropists who, in a time of famine, would vote for nothing but a supply of toothpicks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/he-is-one-of-those-wise-philanthropists-who-in-a-time-of-famine-would/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Rogues are prone to find things before they are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/rogues-are-prone-to-find-things-before-they-are-lost/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [That man is thought a dangerous knave, Or zealot plotting crime, Who for advancement of his kind Is wiser than his time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/that-man-is-thought-a-dangerous-knave-or-zealot-plotting-crime-who/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [A man is in no danger so long as he talks his love; but to write it is to impale himself on his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/a-man-is-in-no-danger-so-long-as-he-talks-his-love-but-to-write-it-is/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Luck, mere luck may make even madness wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/luck-mere-luck-may-make-even-madness-wisdom/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Dogmation is puppyism come to its full growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/dogmation-is-puppyism-come-to-its-full-growth/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [In this world truth can wait; she is used to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/in-this-world-truth-can-wait-she-is-used-to-it/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Wishes, at least, are the easy pleasures of the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/wishes-at-least-are-the-easy-pleasures-of-the-poor/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) [Explore all 75 Douglas William Jerrold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) ## More Creatures quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) [Browse all 3,703 Creatures quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What women would do if they could not cry, nobody knows. What poor, defenceless creatures they would be!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas William Jerrold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cry-nobody-knows-what-poor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creatures" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cry-nobody-knows-what-poor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/douglas-william-jerrold-9046_creatures_what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cr_2826214.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/douglas-william-jerrold-9046_creatures_what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cr_2826214.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbc/douglas-william-jerrold-9046_creatures_what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cr_2826214.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What women would do if they could not cry, nobody knows. What poor, defenceless creatures they would be!” — Douglas William Jerrold", "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": "Douglas William Jerrold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What women would do if they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cry-nobody-knows-what-poor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/what-women-would-do-if-they-could-not-cry-nobody-knows-what-poor/#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 } } ] } ```