--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Half the human race can change its name…" description: "\"Half the human race can change its name and sometimes its nation without suffering — at least half! All women!\" — Jean Giraudoux" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/jean-giraudoux-7998_half_half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name_1474629.jpg" --- # Half the human race can change its name and sometimes its… ![“Half the human race can change its name and sometimes its nation without suffering — at least half! All women!” quote by Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/jean-giraudoux-7998_half_half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name_1474629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/jean-giraudoux-7998_half_half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name_1474629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/jean-giraudoux-7998_half_half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name_1474629.jpg) > “Half the human race can change its name and sometimes its nation without suffering — at least half! All women!” [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the paradox of identity changes without personal loss, especially for women. **In simple terms:** Names and nations shift, but self remains. Key Takeaway Identity persists despite external changes. Themes identity gender societal norms Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - immigration - marriage namelegal name change - political exile Key Concepts personal continuity cultural adaptation Questions to Reflect On - How do name changes affect personal identity? - What freedoms do women gain or lose with such changes? A Different Perspective May simplify complex experiences of displacement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-nation-1212078/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-human-246090/) [Half Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-women-1858025/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-change-843465/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Men should only believe half of what women say. But which half?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/men-should-only-believe-half-of-what-women-say-but-which-half/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [I'm a member of that half of the human race which is inclined to divide the human race into two kinds of people. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/i-m-a-member-of-that-half-of-the-human-race-which-is-inclined-to/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [Well, I would want 'Race 3' to change the course of my career, but whether that will happen is something which we will know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saqib-saleem/well-i-would-want-race-3-to-change-the-course-of-my-career-but/) [Saqib Saleem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saqib-saleem/) > [I know that my race must change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-know-that-my-race-must-change/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [“Redesign your image, make it brighter! You can’t wait for any other time, any other person or any other skill. Once you are convinced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/redesign-your-image-make-it-brighter-you-can-t-wait-for-any-other/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The ideas of right and wrong change with the experience of the race, and this change is wrought by the gradual ascertaining of consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-ideas-of-right-and-wrong-change-with-the-experience-of-the-race/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I know that my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-know-that-my-race-must-change-we-cannot-hold-our-own-with-the-white/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I finally made up my mind that I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/i-finally-made-up-my-mind-that-i-would-neither-disclaim-the-black/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [There's a great deal of women in film school. I was not the only woman in my class at UCLA. When I went through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/there-s-a-great-deal-of-women-in-film-school-i-was-not-the-only-woman/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [Suppose the pay gap between men and women were magically eliminated. If that happened, simple arithmetic suggests that half of women would be unable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/suppose-the-pay-gap-between-men-and-women-were-magically-eliminated/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [One solution might be to impose the duty on admissions officers to arbitrarily admit only half women and half men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/one-solution-might-be-to-impose-the-duty-on-admissions-officers-to/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [“an audience is half women and half men, women worry about the reaction of the men around them. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/an-audience-is-half-women-and-half-men-women-worry-about-the-reaction/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [There's 67 percent of women that are in this plus-size world that we live in. And that's over half of the women in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-brooks/there-s-67-percent-of-women-that-are-in-this-plus-size-world-that-we/) [Danielle Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-brooks/) > [We've consistently seen, since the late 1990s, that more than half of women believe that abortion should be severely restricted or abolished altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-wattleton/we-ve-consistently-seen-since-the-late-1990s-that-more-than-half-of/) [Faye Wattleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-wattleton/) > [What you don't want is just to say, 'All showrunners need to be half women and half men,' because then, for men and women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/what-you-don-t-want-is-just-to-say-all-showrunners-need-to-be-half/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) ## More by Jean Giraudoux > [Sadness flies on the wings of the morning, and out of the heart of darkness comes the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/sadness-flies-on-the-wings-of-the-morning-and-out-of-the-heart-of/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [To seek out in a world full of joy the one thing that is certain to give you pain, and hug it to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/to-seek-out-in-a-world-full-of-joy-the-one-thing-that-is-certain-to/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/when-a-grown-man-reaches-forty-we-change-him-for-an-old-one-he-has/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [There is an invisible garment woven around us from our earliest years; it is made of the way we eat, the way we walk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/there-is-an-invisible-garment-woven-around-us-from-our-earliest-years/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [A wife loves out of duty, and duty leads to constraint, and constraint kills desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/a-wife-loves-out-of-duty-and-duty-leads-to-constraint-and-constraint/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [A woman is a creature who has discovered her own nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/a-woman-is-a-creature-who-has-discovered-her-own-nature/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [The brave men die in war. It takes great luck or judgment not to be killed. Once, at least, the head has to bow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/the-brave-men-die-in-war-it-takes-great-luck-or-judgment-not-to-be/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [As soon as war is declared it will be impossible to hold the poets back. Rhyme is still the most effective drum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/as-soon-as-war-is-declared-it-will-be-impossible-to-hold-the-poets/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [I don't like knowing about other people's feelings. There is nothing more embarrassing. Just as when you play cards and you see your opponent's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/i-don-t-like-knowing-about-other-people-s-feelings-there-is-nothing/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [I'm not afraid of death. It's the stake one puts up in order to play the game of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/i-m-not-afraid-of-death-it-s-the-stake-one-puts-up-in-order-to-play/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [Ask any soldier. To kill a man is to merit a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/ask-any-soldier-to-kill-a-man-is-to-merit-a-woman/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [I believe in the gods; or rather I believe that I believe in the gods. But I don't believe that they are great brooding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/i-believe-in-the-gods-or-rather-i-believe-that-i-believe-in-the-gods/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [Men don't deceive their wives unless they love them. When they love them most, they deceive them. It's a form of fidelity, their deceit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/men-don-t-deceive-their-wives-unless-they-love-them-when-they-love/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [Oh God, if you want women to never again raise their voices, then create an adult man!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/oh-god-if-you-want-women-to-never-again-raise-their-voices-then/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [Close your eyes, all you see is yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/close-your-eyes-all-you-see-is-yours/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) [Explore all 83 Jean Giraudoux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) ## More Feminism quotes > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/) [Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/) > [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/) [Joseph Joffre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joffre/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) [Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Half the human race can change its name and sometimes its nation without suffering — at least half! All women!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean Giraudoux" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name-and-sometimes-its-nation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feminism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name-and-sometimes-its-nation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/jean-giraudoux-7998_half_half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name_1474629.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/jean-giraudoux-7998_half_half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name_1474629.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/jean-giraudoux-7998_half_half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name_1474629.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Half the human race can change its name and sometimes its nation without suffering — at least half! All women!” — Jean Giraudoux", "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": "Jean Giraudoux", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Half the human race can change...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name-and-sometimes-its-nation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/half-the-human-race-can-change-its-name-and-sometimes-its-nation/#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 } } ] } ```