--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think a woman who commits adultery, is…" description: "\"I think a woman who commits adultery, is not sympathetic in our culture - or in many cultures, let's face it.\" — Mary Gaitskill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/mary-gaitskill-7551_adultery_i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is_1071352.jpg" --- # I think a woman who commits adultery, is not sympathetic… ![“I think a woman who commits adultery, is not sympathetic in our culture - or in many cultures, let's face it.” quote by Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/mary-gaitskill-7551_adultery_i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is_1071352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/mary-gaitskill-7551_adultery_i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is_1071352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/mary-gaitskill-7551_adultery_i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is_1071352.jpg) > “I think a woman who commits adultery, is not sympathetic in our culture - or in many cultures, let's face it.” [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## 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 critiques how many cultures view women who commit adultery as lacking sympathy, reflecting gendered moral judgments. **In simple terms:** Societies often judge unfaithful women harshly. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge double standards. Themes gender morality culture judgment Mood critical reflective Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - relationships - legal systems - media representation Key Concepts feminist critique social norms Questions to Reflect On - How do cultural narratives shape judgments of infidelity? - What impact do double standards have on gender equality? A Different Perspective Cultural attitudes vary, and some may view the statement as overgeneralizing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adultery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) ## Related quotes > [Four misfortunes befall a heedless man who commits adultery: acquisition of demerit, disturbed sleep, thirdly blame, and fourthly a state of woe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/four-misfortunes-befall-a-heedless-man-who-commits-adultery/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [I don't appreciate a preacher who commits adultery and then goes out and blames me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-swaggart/i-don-t-appreciate-a-preacher-who-commits-adultery-and-then-goes-out/) [Jimmy Swaggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-swaggart/) > [“There are three to whom Allah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, nor will He look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darussalam/there-are-three-to-whom-allah-will-not-speak-on-the-day-of/) Darussalam > [“Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-lockman-foundation/some-pharisees-came-to-jesus-testing-him-and-asking-is-it-lawful-for/) [The Lockman Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-lockman-foundation/) > [Some women from eastern cultures may get stoned if she commits adultery, some women from western cultures may commit adultery if she gets stoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-women-from-eastern-cultures-may-get-stoned-if-she-commits/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adultery is like, here's the way it is, and here's exactly what you're supposed to do. It's like cheating at Monopoly. For me, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/adultery-is-like-here-s-the-way-it-is-and-here-s-exactly-what-you-re/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post “Thou shalt not steal,” “Thou shalt not commit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-reason-that-we-can-t-have-the-ten-commandments-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would rather commit adultery than drink a glass of beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/i-would-rather-commit-adultery-than-drink-a-glass-of-beer/) [Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/) > [“Finding out that you are not your lover’s only lover hurts, but not as much as discovering that you are the side chick ……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/finding-out-that-you-are-not-your-lover-s-only-lover-hurts-but-not-as/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The only reason I don't want to commit adultery is because I love my wife and I love my lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/the-only-reason-i-don-t-want-to-commit-adultery-is-because-i-love-my/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/all-the-commandments-you-shall-not-commit-adultery-you-shall-not-kill/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [God bids you not to commit lechery, that is, not to have sex with any woman except your wife. You ask of her that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-bids-you-not-to-commit-lechery-that-is-not-to-have-sex-with-any/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do not adultery commit; Advantage rarely comes of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hugh-clough/do-not-adultery-commit-advantage-rarely-comes-of-it/) [Arthur Hugh Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hugh-clough/) > [“Reality has a way of bursting the bubble of illusion, and an affair is one of the biggest illusions that anyone can experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/reality-has-a-way-of-bursting-the-bubble-of-illusion-and-an-affair-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) ## More by Mary Gaitskill > [“I carry love wrapped in pain. That is my treasure and soon it will be yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-carry-love-wrapped-in-pain-that-is-my-treasure-and-soon-it-will-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“God famously doesn't afflict Job because of anything Job has done, but because he wants to prove a point to Satan. Twenty years later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/god-famously-doesn-t-afflict-job-because-of-anything-job-has-done-but/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When you're writing a story, you're creating something of an artificial ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-you-re-writing-a-story-you-re-creating-something-of-an/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Partly, I'm worried that no one is saying anything because they are afraid of being seen as politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/partly-i-m-worried-that-no-one-is-saying-anything-because-they-are/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “...loading your brain with subliminal messages… How loathsome to turn a sadistic murder into entertainment \[in the newspaper\] -- and yet how hard not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/loading-your-brain-with-subliminal-messages-how-loathsome-to-turn-a/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “The place Joanne is building inside \[herself\] has rooms for all of this. Not just rooms. Beautiful ones. For Karl and Jerry and Karen… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-place-joanne-is-building-inside-herself-has-rooms-for-all-of-this/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“Valiantly, he tried to bring his soul to life in the small thing through which it had to live, and it was crushed, again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/valiantly-he-tried-to-bring-his-soul-to-life-in-the-small-thing/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [The best definition I've heard is that guilt is about what you've done, shame is about who you are. If something's out of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-best-definition-i-ve-heard-is-that-guilt-is-about-what-you-ve/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When my first book came out, it was very disorienting. My health went south. I didn't know how to relate to people. I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-my-first-book-came-out-it-was-very-disorienting-my-health-went/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When he held her that way, she felt so happy that it disturbed her. After he left, it would take her hours to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-he-held-her-that-way-she-felt-so-happy-that-it-disturbed-her/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“But life can give a lot. If you can’t see inside the heart no matter how you look, then why not look? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/but-life-can-give-a-lot-if-you-can-t-see-inside-the-heart-no-matter/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Sexuality is a place where people are very vulnerable and can be experiencing and embodying very raw forces that they don't really understand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/sexuality-is-a-place-where-people-are-very-vulnerable-and-can-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“When boys get angry with each other, they just fight it out and it's all over. But girls are dirty. They pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-boys-get-angry-with-each-other-they-just-fight-it-out-and-it-s/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I think, life is miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-life-is-miserable/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) [Explore all 87 Mary Gaitskill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## More Adultery quotes > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [“Reality has a way of bursting the bubble of illusion, and an affair is one of the biggest illusions that anyone can experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/reality-has-a-way-of-bursting-the-bubble-of-illusion-and-an-affair-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Once a cheater always remain's a cheater, if you love your partner, why cheat? That dosent makes any sense, that can tell that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittannia-calder/once-a-cheater-always-remain-s-a-cheater-if-you-love-your-partner-why/) [Brittannia Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittannia-calder/) > [Marriage is honourable, as you say; and if so, wherefore should Cuckoldom be a Discredit, being deriv'd from so honourable a Root?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/marriage-is-honourable-as-you-say-and-if-so-wherefore-should/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [L'adulte' re introduit l'esprit dans la lettre quebien souvent le mariage e u" t laisse e morte. Adultery breathes new life into marriages which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/l-adulte-re-introduit-l-esprit-dans-la-lettre-quebien-souvent-le/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“I shan't make a fuss over the babe's father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/i-shan-t-make-a-fuss-over-the-babe-s-father/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [When adultery walks in, everything worth having walks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-m-kroll/when-adultery-walks-in-everything-worth-having-walks-out/) [Woodrow M. Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-m-kroll/) > [Splendid couple - slept with both of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-bowra/splendid-couple-slept-with-both-of-them/) Maurice Bowra > [“I was thinking of murder, mutilation and dessert like Ignacia Sandoval’s instructions for delectable empanadas made of minced mother-in-law’s tongue (said to induce peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ramos-o-briant/i-was-thinking-of-murder-mutilation-and-dessert-like-ignacia-sandoval/) Sandra Ramos O'Briant > [Adultery is an image of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/adultery-is-an-image-of-hell/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Adolescence: A stage between infancy and adultery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/adolescence-a-stage-between-infancy-and-adultery/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/sin-aims-always-at-the-utmost-every-time-it-rises-up-to-tempt-or/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“Next to Joel on the beach was Martha. Two years back in time she had been Joel’s bimbo. That’s because Joel was still married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-deck/next-to-joel-on-the-beach-was-martha-two-years-back-in-time-she-had/) Stephen Deck > [Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods all things which are disreputable and worthy of blame when done by men; and they told of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophanes/homer-and-hesiod-attributed-to-the-gods-all-things-which-are/) [Xenophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophanes/) > [I was growing tired of all the fussing and prevaricating, of the stolen hours and the secret rendez-vous; of the small indignities and broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/i-was-growing-tired-of-all-the-fussing-and-prevaricating-of-the/) [Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/) [Browse all 426 Adultery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think a woman who commits adultery, is not sympathetic in our culture - or in many cultures, let's face it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Gaitskill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is-not-sympathetic-in-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adultery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is-not-sympathetic-in-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/mary-gaitskill-7551_adultery_i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is_1071352.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/mary-gaitskill-7551_adultery_i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is_1071352.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90e/mary-gaitskill-7551_adultery_i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is_1071352.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think a woman who commits adultery, is not sympathetic in our culture - or in many cultures, let's face it.” — Mary Gaitskill", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary Gaitskill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think a woman who commits...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is-not-sympathetic-in-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-a-woman-who-commits-adultery-is-not-sympathetic-in-our/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```