Cases Quote by Marguerite Young
“A lawyer I once knew told me of a strange case, a suffragette who had never married. After her death, he opened her trunk and discovered 50 wedding gowns.”
About This Quote
Source Short Story: “The Ragged Edge” by Marguerite Young, 1969
A suffragette’s unmarried life is revealed through a trunk of 50 wedding dresses, highlighting societal expectations of marriage.
In simple terms: She kept many wedding dresses despite never marrying.
Key Takeaway
Question societal norms about marriage.
Themes
gender
societal expectations
history
Mood
reflective
inquisitive
Type
historical
feminist
When to use this quote
- museum curation
- academic research
- social commentary
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
feminism
historical curiosity
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the trunk symbolize?
- How do we judge women’s choices?
A Different Perspective
May overlook her personal reasons for keeping the gowns.
![“We petitioned to get access to film [Suffragette] at the Houses of Parliament and we whooped with joy when we were allowed in, as this is the first ever commercial film to shoot there.” quote by Sarah Gavron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e80/sarah-gavron-53093_access_we-petitioned-to-get-access-to-film-suff_2954008.jpg)
![“Until I was about eighteen, yes [I didn't want to get married]. But not because I felt like a suffragette, but because I wanted to devote all my energies to the struggle to free India. Marriage, I thought, would have distracted me from the duties I'd imposed on myself.” quote by Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/987/indira-gandhi-1113_distracted_until-i-was-about-eighteen-yes-i-didn-t_1710683.jpg)
![“I had wanted to make this film [Suffragette] for over a decade. There has never been a cinematic rendition of this story. I had not been taught any of the history of the movement at school, and the version I had gleaned had been the Mary Poppins story of women in large hats, petitioning. There was…” quote by Sarah Gavron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/56f/sarah-gavron-53093_cinematic_i-had-wanted-to-make-this-film-suffraget_1650094.jpg)
![“During the Suffragette revolt of 1913 I[urged] that what was needed was not the vote, but a constitutional amendment enactingthat all representative bodies shall consist of women and men in equal numbers, whether elected or nominated or coopted or registered or picked up in the street like a…” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e2a/george-bernard-shaw-68_amendments_during-the-suffragette-revolt-of-1913-i_1230765.jpg)
![“[As in the case of] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not work.” quote by Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/212/sam-branson-36458_alcohol_as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-il_8703.jpg)
