--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Judith Warner:] Our neurotic quest to…" description: "\"“[Judith Warner:] Our neurotic quest to perfect the mechanics of mothering can be interpreted as an effort to do on an individual level what we’ve stop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/emily-matchar-24473_adventure_judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perf_756634.jpg" --- # \[Judith Warner:\] Our neurotic quest to perfect the… ![“[Judith Warner:] Our neurotic quest to perfect the mechanics of mothering can be interpreted as an effort to do on an individual level what we’ve stopped trying to do on a society-wide one.” quote by Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/emily-matchar-24473_adventure_judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perf_756634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/emily-matchar-24473_adventure_judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perf_756634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/emily-matchar-24473_adventure_judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perf_756634.jpg) > ““\[Judith Warner:\] Our neurotic quest to perfect the mechanics of mothering can be interpreted as an effort to do on an individual level what we’ve stopped trying to do on a society-wide one.”” [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual attempts to perfect parenting reflect a broader societal failure to address collective care. **In simple terms:** Personal parenting perfection masks societal neglect. Key Takeaway Advocate for communal support systems. Themes parenting society collective responsibility perfection Mood thoughtful critical Type social philosophical When to use this quote - family policy - community childcare - social welfare debates Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can society share parenting responsibilities? - What structures support collective caregiving? A Different Perspective Individual focus can ignore systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Homemakers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homemakers/) [Libertarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarianism/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mothers/) [Neurosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurosis/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Perfectionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfectionism/) ## Related quotes > [“A privileging of individual rights over group goods can lead to serious problems, as we’ve seen with the antivaccination movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/a-privileging-of-individual-rights-over-group-goods-can-lead-to/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Why is it we don’t intervene in the bureaucracy?” asks Chris Bobel, the gender studies scholar, who has noted that many young activists prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/why-is-it-we-don-t-intervene-in-the-bureaucracy-asks-chris-bobel-the/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Golden sees parental uninterest in collective solutions as part of a larger “decline in the social contract”… "As a scholar, I'm very disturbed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/golden-sees-parental-uninterest-in-collective-solutions-as-part-of-a/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Many men no longer want to be identified just by their jobs," said Bengt Westerberg, the country's former deputy prime minister.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/many-men-no-longer-want-to-be-identified-just-by-their-jobs-said/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [Stop trying to be what society's shoving down your throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendall-schmidt/stop-trying-to-be-what-society-s-shoving-down-your-throat/) [Kendall Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendall-schmidt/) > [One side of me is very busy paying attention to the details of life, the humanity of people, catching the street voices, the middle-class,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/one-side-of-me-is-very-busy-paying-attention-to-the-details-of-life/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More by Emily Matchar > [“For women with children, the new handmade economy offers the tantalizing possibility of flexible, part-time, at home work--the "egg money" of the twenty-first century.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/for-women-with-children-the-new-handmade-economy-offers-the/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“A privileging of individual rights over group goods can lead to serious problems, as we’ve seen with the antivaccination movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/a-privileging-of-individual-rights-over-group-goods-can-lead-to/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“But she realized that modern homemaking could be creatively fulfilling in a way she'd never imagined. Unlike previous generations of housewives, who Erika imagines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/but-she-realized-that-modern-homemaking-could-be-creatively/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“There’s no evidence that women are actually happier at home. In fact numerous studies show that working moms are happier and more fulfilled than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/there-s-no-evidence-that-women-are-actually-happier-at-home-in-fact/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Why is it we don’t intervene in the bureaucracy?” asks Chris Bobel, the gender studies scholar, who has noted that many young activists prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/why-is-it-we-don-t-intervene-in-the-bureaucracy-asks-chris-bobel-the/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Dozens of my own friends and acquaintances--ambitious, educated women who might have turned up their noses at anything domestic had they been born a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/dozens-of-my-own-friends-and-acquaintances-ambitious-educated-women/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Does the burden of “do it yourself” fall harder on women than men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/does-the-burden-of-do-it-yourself-fall-harder-on-women-than-men/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Golden sees parental uninterest in collective solutions as part of a larger “decline in the social contract”… "As a scholar, I'm very disturbed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/golden-sees-parental-uninterest-in-collective-solutions-as-part-of-a/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [American culture at large has failed working mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/american-culture-at-large-has-failed-working-mothers/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Choosing a simpler life does not offer me a paycheck, a pat on the back from the parents who paid for a “wasted” education,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/choosing-a-simpler-life-does-not-offer-me-a-paycheck-a-pat-on-the/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“I was in need of some community," she said. "I think that's the reason so many women bloggers start blogging, just to find someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/i-was-in-need-of-some-community-she-said-i-think-that-s-the-reason-so/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“If women cut back on their ambitions en masse, institutional change will never happen and the glass ceiling will lower. We need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/if-women-cut-back-on-their-ambitions-en-masse-institutional-change/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“My grandfather so throughly considered cooking to be "women's work" that he wouldn't even enter the kitchen to get his own glass of water.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/my-grandfather-so-throughly-considered-cooking-to-be-women-s-work/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Sweden had paternity-leave policies in place for years but found that few men were taking advantage of the benefit. While women felt comfortable taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/sweden-had-paternity-leave-policies-in-place-for-years-but-found-that/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) > [“Jean Railla puts it even more bluntly: "Workplaces are still very sexist--it's hard to be a woman in the workplace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/jean-railla-puts-it-even-more-bluntly-workplaces-are-still-very/) [Emily Matchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) [Explore all 24 Emily Matchar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) Kevin McLeod > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[Judith Warner:] Our neurotic quest to perfect the mechanics of mothering can be interpreted as an effort to do on an individual level what we’ve stopped trying to do on a society-wide one.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Matchar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perfect-the-mechanics-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perfect-the-mechanics-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/emily-matchar-24473_adventure_judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perf_756634.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/emily-matchar-24473_adventure_judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perf_756634.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fb/emily-matchar-24473_adventure_judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perf_756634.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Judith Warner:] Our neurotic quest to perfect the mechanics of mothering can be interpreted as an effort to…” — Emily Matchar", "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": "Emily Matchar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-matchar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[Judith Warner:] Our neurotic quest to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perfect-the-mechanics-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-matchar/judith-warner-our-neurotic-quest-to-perfect-the-mechanics-of/#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 } } ] } ```