Blame Quote by Moderata Fonte
“When you hear men talking," said Cornelia, "all they ever do is speak ill of women. ... And I don't quite know how they managed to make this law in their favour, or who exactly it was who gave them a greater license to sin than is allowed to us; and if the fault is common to both sexes (as they can hardly deny), why should the blame not be as well? What makes them think they can boast of the same thing that in women brings only shame?”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Worth of Women (Il Merito delle Donne) by Moderata Fonte, 1600
The quote critiques how men habitually criticize women and manipulate laws to favor themselves, questioning gendered double standards and urging equality in moral accountability.
In simple terms: Men criticize women and shape laws to their benefit, exposing gender bias.
Key Takeaway
Challenge gendered double standards.
Themes
gender inequality
justice
power dynamics
Mood
critical
reflective
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- legal reform
- education
- public discourse
- activism
Key Concepts
feminist critique
social contract
Questions to Reflect On
- How can societies enforce equal moral standards?
- What steps can reduce gendered bias in law?
A Different Perspective
The argument assumes all men act uniformly, overlooking individual variation.
![“Of course, no state accepts [that it should call] the people it is imprisoning or detaining for political reasons, political prisoners. They don't call them political prisoners in China, they don't call them political prisoners in Azerbaijan and they don't call them political prisoners in the…” quote by Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ffb/julian-assange-1566_accepting_of-course-no-state-accepts-that-it-shoul_302066.jpg)
![“This pre-eminence is something [men] have unjustly arrogated to themselves. And when it's said that women must be subject to men, the phrase should be understood in the same sense as when we say we are subject to natural disasters, diseases, and all the other accidents of this life: it's not a…” quote by Moderata Fonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/027/moderata-fonte-42110_accidents_this-pre-eminence-is-something-men-have_491835.jpg)
![“[M]en, though they know full well how much women are worth and how great the benefits we bring them, nonetheless seek to destroy us out of envy for our merits. It's just like the crow, when it produces white nestlings: it is so stricken by envy, knowing how black it is itself, that it kills its…” quote by Moderata Fonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/18f/moderata-fonte-42110_benefits_m-en-though-they-know-full-well-how-much_1290337.jpg)
![“[I]t was with a good end in mind – that of acquiring the knowledge of good and evil – that Eve allowed herself to be carried away and eat the forbidden fruit. But Adam was not moved by this desire for knowledge, but simply by greed: he ate it because he heard Eve say it tasted good.” quote by Moderata Fonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/580/moderata-fonte-42110_adam_i-t-was-with-a-good-end-in-mind-that-of_2691016.jpg)
