--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The dilemma for women - writing after…" description: "\"The dilemma for women - writing after everything else was finished - has prevented women from reaching their literary potential for centuries.\" — Joan ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/joan-m-drury-65717_century_the-dilemma-for-women-writing-after-ever_901712.jpg" --- # The dilemma for women - writing after everything else was… ![“The dilemma for women - writing after everything else was finished - has prevented women from reaching their literary potential for centuries.” quote by Joan M. Drury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/joan-m-drury-65717_century_the-dilemma-for-women-writing-after-ever_901712.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/joan-m-drury-65717_century_the-dilemma-for-women-writing-after-ever_901712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/joan-m-drury-65717_century_the-dilemma-for-women-writing-after-ever_901712.jpg) > “The dilemma for women - writing after everything else was finished - has prevented women from reaching their literary potential for centuries.” Joan M. Drury ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical expectations forced women to prioritize domestic duties, limiting their literary development and recognition. **In simple terms:** Domestic duties limited women writers. Key Takeaway Support women’s creative time. Themes gender literature history inequality Mood hopeful critical Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - writing retreats - literary conferences - educational programs - policy advocacy Key Concepts feminist criticism social constraints Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions better support women writers? - What steps can individuals take to value women’s literary work? A Different Perspective Changing norms still present barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dilemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilemma/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I never think of people's literary potential when I meet them, but people do audition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/i-never-think-of-people-s-literary-potential-when-i-meet-them-but/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [There's an old saying: 'No piece of writing is ever finished, it's just abandoned.' But my own rule is: No piece of work is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/there-s-an-old-saying-no-piece-of-writing-is-ever-finished-it-s-just/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [No piece of writing is ever finished. It’s just due.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-condon/no-piece-of-writing-is-ever-finished-it-s-just-due/) [Bill Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-condon/) > [I found 'The Twin' sitting on a coffee table at a writers' colony in 2009. It carried praise from J.M. Coetzee. That seemed ample…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-found-the-twin-sitting-on-a-coffee-table-at-a-writers-colony-in/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [It's extremely important for women to be writing their own stories and giving them to people to really be emotionally impacted by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosario-dawson/it-s-extremely-important-for-women-to-be-writing-their-own-stories/) [Rosario Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosario-dawson/) > [There are more and more women writing. And there are more and more good male writers who are writing and who learned and decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-o-hara/there-are-more-and-more-women-writing-and-there-are-more-and-more/) [Catherine O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-o-hara/) > [Woman must write her self: must write about women and bring women to writing, from which they have been driven away as violently as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/woman-must-write-her-self-must-write-about-women-and-bring-women-to/) [Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [I'm not writing about things other women do. I'm writing for other women to have more self-confidence because I need it myself! And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-m-not-writing-about-things-other-women-do-i-m-writing-for-other/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [A book is not an example of 'women's writing' simply because it is written by a woman. Writing may become 'women's writing' when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-book-is-not-an-example-of-women-s-writing-simply-because-it-is/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“Women’s writing is full ... with the injustices done by beauty—its presence as well as its absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/women-s-writing-is-full-with-the-injustices-done-by-beauty-its/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [It seems to me that 'women's writing' by nature would not seek equivalence in the male world. It would be a writing that sought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/it-seems-to-me-that-women-s-writing-by-nature-would-not-seek/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [I would like to help young women writing comedy, acting, anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sennott/i-would-like-to-help-young-women-writing-comedy-acting-anything-like/) [Rachel Sennott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sennott/) > [It was actually a women's writing group I belonged to in graduate school that gave me the courage to move from poetry to fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gordon/it-was-actually-a-women-s-writing-group-i-belonged-to-in-graduate/) [Mary Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gordon/) > [I think that we're in a really amazing time, where there are really a lot of really fantastic female actresses and comedians. I imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-cummings/i-think-that-we-re-in-a-really-amazing-time-where-there-are-really-a/) [Whitney Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-cummings/) > [Most of my writer friends are women, and they're all extremely talented, so of course I think the state of contemporary fiction for women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/most-of-my-writer-friends-are-women-and-they-re-all-extremely/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) ## More by Joan M. Drury > [I think I'm a love agnostic - not sure, one way or another, if it really exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-m-drury/i-think-i-m-a-love-agnostic-not-sure-one-way-or-another-if-it-really/) Joan M. Drury > [Courtesy is the bedrock of social interchange. No matter what you're doing, even if you're fomenting revolution, you can still be courteous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-m-drury/courtesy-is-the-bedrock-of-social-interchange-no-matter-what-you-re/) Joan M. Drury > [When we mourn our parents, we mourn the parents we had as well as the ones we never had. With death, all bets are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-m-drury/when-we-mourn-our-parents-we-mourn-the-parents-we-had-as-well-as-the/) Joan M. Drury Explore all 4 Joan M. Drury quotes ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The dilemma for women - writing after everything else was finished - has prevented women from reaching their literary potential for centuries.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan M. 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