Supreme power Quote by George Eliot
““Some have felt that these blundering lives are due to the inconvenient indefiniteness with which the Supreme Power has fashioned the natures of women: if there were one level of feminine incompetence as strict as the ability to count three and no more, the social lot of women might be treated with scientific certitude. Meanwhile the indefiniteness remains, and the limits of variation are really much wider than any one would imagine from the sameness of women's coiffure and the favorite love-stories in prose and verse. Here and there a cygnet is reared uneasily among the ducklings in the brown pond, and never finds the living stream in fellowship with its own oary-footed kind. Here and there is born a Saint Theresa, foundress of nothing, whose loving heart-beats and sobs after an unattained goodness tremble off and are dispersed among hindrances, instead of centring in some long-recognizable deed.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1871
Women face unpredictable societal expectations that make their roles seem ill-defined and limit their opportunities.
In simple terms: Women struggle with vague expectations and limited chances.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and challenge vague gender expectations.
Themes
gender
society
expectations
identity
limitations
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
analytical
When to use this quote
- career advancement
- education
- family dynamics
- personal growth
Key Concepts
feminist critique
social determinism
Questions to Reflect On
- How do societal expectations shape personal identity?
- What can be done to broaden opportunities for women?
A Different Perspective
Oversimplifies women's experiences to a single narrative.
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
