--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I repeat, sir, that in whatever position…" description: "\"I repeat, sir, that in whatever position you place a woman she is an ornament to society and a treasure to the world. As a sweetheart, she has few equa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed1/mark-twain-22_almighty_i-repeat-sir-that-in-whatever-position-y_73964.png" --- # I repeat, sir, that in whatever position you place a woman… ![“I repeat, sir, that in whatever position you place a woman she is an ornament to society and a treasure to the world. As a sweetheart, she has few equals and no superiors; as a cousin, she is convenient; as a wealthy grandmother with an incurable distemper, she is precious; as a wet-nurse, she has…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed1/mark-twain-22_almighty_i-repeat-sir-that-in-whatever-position-y_73964.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed1/mark-twain-22_almighty_i-repeat-sir-that-in-whatever-position-y_73964.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed1/mark-twain-22_almighty_i-repeat-sir-that-in-whatever-position-y_73964.png) > “I repeat, sir, that in whatever position you place a woman she is an ornament to society and a treasure to the world. As a sweetheart, she has few equals and no superiors; as a cousin, she is convenient; as a wealthy grandmother with an incurable distemper, she is precious; as a wet-nurse, she has no equal among men. What, sir, would the people of the earth be without woman? They would be scarce, sir, almighty scarce.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote extols women's multifaceted value to society, portraying them as essential, cherished, and irreplaceable in various roles. **In simple terms:** Women are indispensable and treasured. Key Takeaway Women are essential to humanity. Themes gender roles social value patriarchy humor stereotype Mood wry affectionate critical Type satire observation When to use this quote - historical discourse - literary satire - gender debate Key Concepts social hierarchy family dynamics Practical Applications - cultural analysis - educational curricula Questions to Reflect On - How does this portrayal reflect 19th‑century attitudes? - What impact might such rhetoric have on gender equality? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Almighty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almighty/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Grandmother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandmother/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sweetheart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweetheart/) [Treasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treasure/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [What, sir, would the people of the earth be without woman? They would be scarce, sir, almighty scarce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/what-sir-would-the-people-of-the-earth-be-without-woman-they-would-be/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“And know this: Know you are the type of woman who is searching for a place to call yours. Let the statues crumble. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/and-know-this-know-you-are-the-type-of-woman-who-is-searching-for-a/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [The long arm of the law has no place in a woman's womb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-n-green/the-long-arm-of-the-law-has-no-place-in-a-woman-s-womb/) [Al N. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-n-green/) > [I believe you should place a woman on a pedestal: high enough so you can look up her dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-believe-you-should-place-a-woman-on-a-pedestal-high-enough-so-you/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The most unorganized place is the woman's bag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-elba/the-most-unorganized-place-is-the-woman-s-bag/) [Charles Elba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-elba/) > [A hairdresser holds a trusted place in a woman's life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-wells/a-hairdresser-holds-a-trusted-place-in-a-woman-s-life/) [Linda Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-wells/) > [A lady I will be, but a man's accessory, his handbag, no thank you. I will not be someone's ornament. I will not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/a-lady-i-will-be-but-a-man-s-accessory-his-handbag-no-thank-you-i/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [What would men be without women? Scarce, sir...mighty scarce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/what-would-men-be-without-women-scarce-sir-mighty-scarce/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Money can help you to get medicines but not health. Money can help you to get soft pillows, but not sound sleep. Money can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/money-can-help-you-to-get-medicines-but-not-health-money-can-help-you/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [I never rebel so much against France as not to regard Paris with a friendly eye; she has had my heart since my childhood...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-never-rebel-so-much-against-france-as-not-to-regard-paris-with-a/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [No ornament of a house can compare with books; they are constant company in a room, even when you are not reading them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/no-ornament-of-a-house-can-compare-with-books-they-are-constant/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [The modern majesty consists in work. What a man can do is his greatest ornament, and he always consults his dignity by doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-modern-majesty-consists-in-work-what-a-man-can-do-is-his-greatest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Mannerism is not character, and affectation is the avowed enemy of grace. Every dancer ought to regard his laborious art as a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-bournonville/mannerism-is-not-character-and-affectation-is-the-avowed-enemy-of/) [August Bournonville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-bournonville/) > [So may the outward shows be least themselves; The world is still deceived with ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-may-the-outward-shows-be-least-themselves-the-world-is-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people is satisfied with ornament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-connoisseur-of-art-must-be-able-to-appreciate-what-is-simply/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Almighty quotes > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [“The LORD Almighty is our very present helper at all times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-lord-almighty-is-our-very-present-helper-at-all-times/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [I really appreciate leaders from around the globe who have come to share in prayer with us today. It reminds me that the Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-really-appreciate-leaders-from-around-the-globe-who-have-come-to/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Thi is the malady onf the humans, that they can hold on to that which is fleeting and of little consequence and call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-fabry/thi-is-the-malady-onf-the-humans-that-they-can-hold-on-to-that-which/) [Chris Fabry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-fabry/) > [There is nothing more appalling than the wholesale way in which unthinking people plead to the Almighty the richest and most spiritual of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-drummond/there-is-nothing-more-appalling-than-the-wholesale-way-in-which/) [William Henry Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-drummond/) > [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/) [Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) > [When you hear somebody justifying a war by citing the Almighty, I get a little worried, frankly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-reagan/when-you-hear-somebody-justifying-a-war-by-citing-the-almighty-i-get/) [Ron Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-reagan/) > [My journey deep into coma, outside this lowly physical realm and into the loftiest dwelling place of the almighty Creator, revealed the indescribably immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-alexander/my-journey-deep-into-coma-outside-this-lowly-physical-realm-and-into/) [Eben Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eben-alexander/) > [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [It is mind-boggling to me that the Almighty power created everything I see; the Bible says that God created the entire universe just so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/it-is-mind-boggling-to-me-that-the-almighty-power-created-everything/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [If there is anyone who loves you more than you love yourself are your mother and almighty God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/if-there-is-anyone-who-loves-you-more-than-you-love-yourself-are-your/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I'm not denyin' the women are foolish. God Almighty made 'em to match the men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-m-not-denyin-the-women-are-foolish-god-almighty-made-em-to-match/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Browse all 723 Almighty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almighty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I repeat, sir, that in whatever position you place a woman she is an ornament to society and a treasure to the world. As a sweetheart, she has few equals and no superiors; as a cousin, she is convenient; as a wealthy grandmother with an incurable distemper, she is precious; as a wet-nurse, she has no equal among men. What, sir, would the people of the earth be without woman? 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