--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism…" description: "\"It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that any woman should still be forced to bear such monstrous torture. It should be remedied. It should be stopp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/isadora-duncan-7255_absurd_it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-t_373148.jpg" --- # It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that any woman… ![“It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that any woman should still be forced to bear such monstrous torture. It should be remedied. It should be stopped. It is simply absurd that, with our modern science, painless childbirth does not exist as a matter of course… I tremble with indignation when I…” quote by Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/isadora-duncan-7255_absurd_it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-t_373148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/isadora-duncan-7255_absurd_it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-t_373148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/isadora-duncan-7255_absurd_it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-t_373148.jpg) > “It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that any woman should still be forced to bear such monstrous torture. It should be remedied. It should be stopped. It is simply absurd that, with our modern science, painless childbirth does not exist as a matter of course… I tremble with indignation when I think ofthe unspeakable egotism and blindness of men of science who permit such atrocities when they can be remedied.” [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She condemns the continued use of painful childbirth despite modern science, calling it barbaric and demanding change. **In simple terms:** Painful childbirth is unacceptable and must be stopped. Key Takeaway Advocate for painless, humane childbirth methods. Themes women's rights medical ethics human rights social reform Mood advocacy ethical urgent Type persuasive emotional call to action When to use this quote - medical conferences - public health campaigns - legislative lobbying - educational workshops Key Concepts pain management obstetrics gender equality Questions to Reflect On - How can science be better applied to women's health? - What barriers prevent painless childbirth adoption? A Different Perspective Changing entrenched medical practices can be slow and face resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Atrocities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities/) [Barbarism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarism/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Blindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness/) [Childbirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childbirth/) [Egotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egotism/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Modern science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-science/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Unspeakable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unspeakable/) ## Related quotes > [Once the state has been founded, there can no longer be any heroes. They come on the scene only in uncivilized conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/once-the-state-has-been-founded-there-can-no-longer-be-any-heroes/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [“Death is number one on the list of things that we wish were possible to leave behind when we escaped barbarism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/death-is-number-one-on-the-list-of-things-that-we-wish-were-possible/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I'm a mess when it comes to you I've got no inhibitions whatsoever it's true I'm not the kinda girl who hangs around like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/treasure/i-m-a-mess-when-it-comes-to-you-i-ve-got-no-inhibitions-whatsoever-it/) Treasure > [Shakespeare cared little for the State, the source of all our judgments, apart from its shows and splendours, its turmoils and battles, its flamings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/shakespeare-cared-little-for-the-state-the-source-of-all-our/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Men in a state of nature, uncivilized nations, children, have a great fondness for colors in their utmost brightness, and especially for yellow-red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/men-in-a-state-of-nature-uncivilized-nations-children-have-a-great/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/moral-certainty-is-always-a-sign-of-cultural-inferiority-the-more/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“The flaw in being civilized is that it permit’s the uncivilized among us to perpetrate horrific crimes against us in the name of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-croan/the-flaw-in-being-civilized-is-that-it-permit-s-the-uncivilized-among/) [M.J. Croan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-croan/) > [POTABLE, n. Suitable for drinking. Water is said to be potable; indeed, some declare it our natural beverage, although even they find it palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/potable-n-suitable-for-drinking-water-is-said-to-be-potable-indeed/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Cruelty is contagious in uncivilized communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/cruelty-is-contagious-in-uncivilized-communities/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [“Bad behavior don't make us cool, it only exposes the fool we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/bad-behavior-don-t-make-us-cool-it-only-exposes-the-fool-we-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Policemen and laws can never replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. At best, the police and criminal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-todd-christofferson/policemen-and-laws-can-never-replace-customs-traditions-and-moral/) [D. Todd Christofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-todd-christofferson/) > [In Spain in the meantime, Aristotelian scholar Juan Gines de Sepulveda was putting the impolitic moralizing of Las Casas into proper perspective for posterity:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-gines-de-sepulveda/in-spain-in-the-meantime-aristotelian-scholar-juan-gines-de-sepulveda/) Juan Gines de Sepulveda > [Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilized - the convicts even more so. They are troublesome, very dirty and live almost like animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/kaffirs-are-as-a-rule-uncivilized-the-convicts-even-more-so-they-are/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“We are far too uncivilized to possess the weapons we do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/we-are-far-too-uncivilized-to-possess-the-weapons-we-do/) [A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [“We, in the interest of the so-called progress, have been persuaded to leave the production and at times the cooking of our food to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-in-the-interest-of-the-so-called-progress-have-been-persuaded-to/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Isadora Duncan > [Art is not necessary at all. All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live in is to love -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/art-is-not-necessary-at-all-all-that-is-necessary-to-make-this-world/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [My art is just an effort to express the truth of my being in gesture and movement. It has taken me long years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/my-art-is-just-an-effort-to-express-the-truth-of-my-being-in-gesture/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Man must speak, then sing, then dance. The speaking is the brain, the thinking man. The singing is the emotion. The dancing is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/man-must-speak-then-sing-then-dance-the-speaking-is-the-brain-the/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [All my life I have struggled to make one authentic gesture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/all-my-life-i-have-struggled-to-make-one-authentic-gesture/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [I intend to work for this dance of the future. I do not know whether I have the necessary qualities; I may have neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/i-intend-to-work-for-this-dance-of-the-future-i-do-not-know-whether-i/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The only dance masters I could have were Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Walt Whitman and Nietzsche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-only-dance-masters-i-could-have-were-jean-jacques-rousseau-walt/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The dancer will not belong to a nation but to all humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-dancer-will-not-belong-to-a-nation-but-to-all-humanity/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Dancing: The Highest Intelligence in the Freest Body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/dancing-the-highest-intelligence-in-the-freest-body/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [All my lovers have been geniuses; it's the one thing that I insist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/all-my-lovers-have-been-geniuses-it-s-the-one-thing-that-i-insist/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [I have only danced my life. As a child I danced the spontaneous joy of growing things. As an adolescent, I danced with joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/i-have-only-danced-my-life-as-a-child-i-danced-the-spontaneous-joy-of/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [When I was sixteen, I danced before an audience without music. At the end someone suddenly cried 'its Death and the Maiden'. But that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/when-i-was-sixteen-i-danced-before-an-audience-without-music-at-the/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The dancer will not belong to any nation but to all humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-dancer-will-not-belong-to-any-nation-but-to-all-humanity/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [To awaken human emotion is the highest level of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/to-awaken-human-emotion-is-the-highest-level-of-art/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The dancer's body is simply the luminous manifestation of her soul...This is the truly creative dancer, natural but not imitative, speaking in movement out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-dancer-s-body-is-simply-the-luminous-manifestation-of-her-soul/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Oh Woman, come before us, before our eyes longing for beauty, and tired of the ugliness of civilization, come in simple tunics, letting us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/oh-woman-come-before-us-before-our-eyes-longing-for-beauty-and-tired/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) [Explore all 92 Isadora Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that any woman should still be forced to bear such monstrous torture. It should be remedied. It should be stopped. It is simply absurd that, with our modern science, painless childbirth does not exist as a matter of course… I tremble with indignation when I think ofthe unspeakable egotism and blindness of men of science who permit such atrocities when they can be remedied.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isadora Duncan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-that-any-woman-should-still-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-that-any-woman-should-still-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/isadora-duncan-7255_absurd_it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-t_373148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/isadora-duncan-7255_absurd_it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-t_373148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/isadora-duncan-7255_absurd_it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-t_373148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that any woman should still be forced to bear such monstrous…” — Isadora Duncan", "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": "Isadora Duncan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-that-any-woman-should-still-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-that-any-woman-should-still-be/#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 } } ] } ```