--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the memory of one's predecessors is…" description: "\"When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the assumption persists that there were none and each generation of women believes itself to be faced ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/joanna-russ-7942_assumption_when-the-memory-of-one-s-predecessors-is_2714189.jpg" --- # When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the… ![“When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the assumption persists that there were none and each generation of women believes itself to be faced with the burden of doing everything for the first time. And if no one ever did it beforewhy do we think we can succeed now?” quote by Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/joanna-russ-7942_assumption_when-the-memory-of-one-s-predecessors-is_2714189.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/joanna-russ-7942_assumption_when-the-memory-of-one-s-predecessors-is_2714189.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/joanna-russ-7942_assumption_when-the-memory-of-one-s-predecessors-is_2714189.jpg) > “When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the assumption persists that there were none and each generation of women believes itself to be faced with the burden of doing everything for the first time. And if no one ever did it beforewhy do we think we can succeed now?” [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When past women's achievements are forgotten, each generation feels isolated and must reinvent the wheel, doubting they can succeed without precedent. **In simple terms:** Forgetting women's history makes each generation feel alone and uncertain. Key Takeaway Preserve and teach women's history. Themes history women generational memory identity empowerment Mood reflective determined hopeful Type historical motivational educational When to use this quote - education curricula - women's leadership programs - media representation - family storytelling Key Concepts feminist theory social memory intergenerational learning Questions to Reflect On - How can we better integrate women's histories into mainstream narratives? - What barriers keep us from recognizing past achievements? A Different Perspective If we ignore past role models, we risk repeating mistakes and limiting ambition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the assumption persists that there were none and each generation of women believes itself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/when-the-memory-of-one-s-predecessors-is-buried-the-assumption-2/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [You pick a project. You think, 'I can succeed at this. I can help them. 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If youre constantly thinking about how you will fail, you will feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/be-aware-of-where-your-focus-is-where-focus-goes-energy-flows-if/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [Whether you think you will succeed or not, you are right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/whether-you-think-you-will-succeed-or-not-you-are-right/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“Much of what we think we must do to succeed is unnecessary and even counterproductive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morra-aarons-mele/much-of-what-we-think-we-must-do-to-succeed-is-unnecessary-and-even/) Morra Aarons-Mele > [I try to let my decisions be guided not by what I think will succeed or fail, but what I'm going to learn from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/i-try-to-let-my-decisions-be-guided-not-by-what-i-think-will-succeed/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [And then he sank back and tried, as usual, not to think. He must succeed. That's what the world was made for. That's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/and-then-he-sank-back-and-tried-as-usual-not-to-think-he-must-succeed/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [So if you think being thin is enough to succeed in gymnastics, you're wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-miller/so-if-you-think-being-thin-is-enough-to-succeed-in-gymnastics-you-re/) [Shannon Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-miller/) > [“You WILL eventually become what you think. 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I've chewed on the ground glass of my own experience.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/getting-to-a-place-where-i-am-comfortable-saying-things-was-hard/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [“Every new generation of women, it seems, feminist and housewife alike, is encouraged by popular culture to disavow its forebears and rebrand itself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carina-chocano/every-new-generation-of-women-it-seems-feminist-and-housewife-alike/) [Carina Chocano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carina-chocano/) > [Once I started to retire, I was telling all of the girls in my generation, 'Wow I feel like an outsider in this locker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-kim/once-i-started-to-retire-i-was-telling-all-of-the-girls-in-my/) [Gail Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-kim/) > [There's a whole generation of women who never really heard the word investment before, when it came to fashion. They've been buying things because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kors/there-s-a-whole-generation-of-women-who-never-really-heard-the-word/) [Michael Kors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kors/) ## More by Joanna Russ > [“Thus in the bad days, in the dark swampy times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/thus-in-the-bad-days-in-the-dark-swampy-times/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [“An as-yet-unpublished poet in Boulder, Colorado, once said to me that anything worth doing was worth doing badly. I may seem, in the foregoing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/an-as-yet-unpublished-poet-in-boulder-colorado-once-said-to-me-that/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [“(Only God can make a tree and She seldom tries, nowadays.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/only-god-can-make-a-tree-and-she-seldom-tries-nowadays/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [ “The trouble with men is that they have limited minds. That's the trouble with women, too." \[ "Existence" (1975)\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/the-trouble-with-men-is-that-they-have-limited-minds-that-s-the/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [“Until you learn better, you think that a landscaped world can't hurt you or please you, you needn't bother about its soul, you needn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/until-you-learn-better-you-think-that-a-landscaped-world-can-t-hurt/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [The techniques are all means of dealing with one simple idea: She wrote it. 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But persistence in ignorance is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/ignorance-is-not-bad-faith-but-persistence-in-ignorance-is/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [“I had planned to consult with a Black colleague, but when I approached her in the hall she had a crowd of students about,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/i-had-planned-to-consult-with-a-black-colleague-but-when-i-approached/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [There are more whooping cranes in the United States of America than there are women in Congress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/there-are-more-whooping-cranes-in-the-united-states-of-america-than/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [“Courage is willful hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/courage-is-willful-hope/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [The trouble with men is that they have limited minds. That's the trouble with women, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/the-trouble-with-men-is-that-they-have-limited-minds-that-s-the-2/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [“I cannot get into this swamp or I will never get out; and if I start crying again I'll remember that I have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/i-cannot-get-into-this-swamp-or-i-will-never-get-out-and-if-i-start/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [Science fiction, as I mentioned before, writes about what is neither impossible nor possible; the fact is that, when the question of possibility comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/science-fiction-as-i-mentioned-before-writes-about-what-is-neither/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) > [“Somewhere there is a book that says you ought to cry buckets of tears over yourself and love yourself with a passion and wrap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-russ/somewhere-there-is-a-book-that-says-you-ought-to-cry-buckets-of-tears/) [Joanna Russ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) [Explore all 84 Joanna Russ quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-russ/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. 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