Inner life Quote by Margaret Atwood
““… for it is the fate of a woman Long to be patient and silent, to wait like a ghost that is speechless, Till some questioning voice dissolves the spell of its silence. Hence is the inner life of so many suffering women Sunless and silent and deep, like subterranean rivers Running through caverns of darkness.… —HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, “The Courtship of Miles Standish,” 1858.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: “The Courtship of Miles Standish”, 1858
Women often endure silent suffering, awaiting a voice to break their oppression.
In simple terms: Silent women await liberation.
Key Takeaway
Amplify unheard voices.
Themes
gender
silence
patience
Mood
somber
hopeful
Type
poetic
advocacy
When to use this quote
- activism
- literature
- mental health
Key Concepts
feminist theory
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- What empowers the voiceless?
A Different Perspective
Silence can be self‑imposed.
![“There were really funny characteristics about this guy [Richard Nixon], chief of which would be that he seemed to devote about 85 percent of his waking energy to suppressing any sign of his emotional response to anything that was going on around him, and the other 15 percent blurting out those…” quote by Harry Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7f4/harry-shearer-7595_characteristics_there-were-really-funny-characteristics_50569.jpg)
