--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1924, Nikola Tesla was asked why he…" description: "\"“In 1924, Nikola Tesla was asked why he never married? His answer was this: \"I had always thought of woman as possessing those delicate qualities of mi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/nikola-tesla-1383_daily-news_in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-ne_491579.jpg" --- # In 1924, Nikola Tesla was asked why he never married? His… ![“In 1924, Nikola Tesla was asked why he never married? His answer was this: "I had always thought of woman as possessing those delicate qualities of mind and soul that made her in her respects far superior to man. I had put her on a lofty pedestal, figuratively speaking, and ranked her in certain…” quote by Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/nikola-tesla-1383_daily-news_in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-ne_491579.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/nikola-tesla-1383_daily-news_in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-ne_491579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/nikola-tesla-1383_daily-news_in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-ne_491579.jpg) > ““In 1924, Nikola Tesla was asked why he never married? His answer was this: "I had always thought of woman as possessing those delicate qualities of mind and soul that made her in her respects far superior to man. I had put her on a lofty pedestal, figuratively speaking, and ranked her in certain important attributes considerably higher than man. I worshipped at the feet of the creature I had raised to this height, and, like every true worshiper, I felt myself unworthy of the object of my worship. But all this was in the past. Now the soft voiced gentle woman of my reverent worship has all but vanished. In her place has come the woman who thinks that her chief success in life lies on making herself as much as possible like man - in dress, voice, and actions, in sports and achievements of every kind. The world has experience many tragedies, but to my mind the greatest tragedy of all is the present economic condition wherein women strive against men, and in many cases actually succeed in usurping their places in the professions and in industry. This growing tendency of women to overshadow the masculine is a sign of a deteriorating civilization. Practically all the great achievements of man until now have been inspired by his love and devotion to woman. Man has aspired to great things because some woman believed in him, because he wished to command her admiration and respect. For these reasons he has fought for her and risked his life and his all for her time and time again. Perhaps the male in society is useless. I am frank to admit that I don't know. If women are beginning to feel this way about it - and there is striking evidence at hand that they do - then we are entering upon the cruelest period of the world's history. Our civilization will sink to a state like that which is found among the bees, ants, and other insects - a state wherein the male is ruthlessly killed off. In this matriarchal empire which will be established, the female rules. As the female predominates, the males are at her mercy. The male is considered important only as a factor in the general scheme of the continuity of life. The tendency of women to push aside man, supplanting the old spirit of cooperation with him in all the affairs of life, is very disappointing to me." Galveston Daily News, Galveston, Texas, page 23. August 10, 1924.”” [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tesla expresses fear that women's increasing equality threatens traditional male roles and societal stability **In simple terms:** He worries that women surpassing men will lead to a collapse of civilization Key Takeaway Recognize gender equality as a shared human progress, not a threat Themes gender roles civilization equality progress anxiety Mood concerned reflective critical Type historical philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - historical analysis - gender studies - policy making - education reform - media commentary Key Concepts patriarchy matriarchy social change masculinity feminism Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports or contradicts his claim? - How can societies value both genders without framing it as competition? A Different Perspective His view reflects personal bias and ignores women's contributions and agency ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Daily news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-news/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love And Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-devotion/) [Mind and soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-soul/) [Success in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-in-life/) ## Related quotes > [ “It is not a dream, it is a simple feat of scientific electrical engineering, only expensive — blind, faint-hearted, doubting world! \[...\] Humanity is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/it-is-not-a-dream-it-is-a-simple-feat-of-scientific-electrical/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [There's a tendency to still show women as being one way or the other - you're either soft and shy or you're really ballsy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-barden/there-s-a-tendency-to-still-show-women-as-being-one-way-or-the-other/) [Jessica Barden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-barden/) > [I think there's a tendency with some women especially to internalize and think, 'I have to be perfect at everything before I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-doughtie/i-think-there-s-a-tendency-with-some-women-especially-to-internalize/) [Lynne Doughtie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-doughtie/) > [A lot of guys get slammed pretty hard. 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His answer was this: \"I had always thought of woman as possessing those delicate qualities of mind and soul that made her in her respects far superior to man. I had put her on a lofty pedestal, figuratively speaking, and ranked her in certain important attributes considerably higher than man. I worshipped at the feet of the creature I had raised to this height, and, like every true worshiper, I felt myself unworthy of the object of my worship. But all this was in the past. Now the soft voiced gentle woman of my reverent worship has all but vanished. In her place has come the woman who thinks that her chief success in life lies on making herself as much as possible like man - in dress, voice, and actions, in sports and achievements of every kind. The world has experience many tragedies, but to my mind the greatest tragedy of all is the present economic condition wherein women strive against men, and in many cases actually succeed in usurping their places in the professions and in industry. This growing tendency of women to overshadow the masculine is a sign of a deteriorating civilization. Practically all the great achievements of man until now have been inspired by his love and devotion to woman. Man has aspired to great things because some woman believed in him, because he wished to command her admiration and respect. For these reasons he has fought for her and risked his life and his all for her time and time again. Perhaps the male in society is useless. I am frank to admit that I don't know. If women are beginning to feel this way about it - and there is striking evidence at hand that they do - then we are entering upon the cruelest period of the world's history. Our civilization will sink to a state like that which is found among the bees, ants, and other insects - a state wherein the male is ruthlessly killed off. In this matriarchal empire which will be established, the female rules. As the female predominates, the males are at her mercy. The male is considered important only as a factor in the general scheme of the continuity of life. The tendency of women to push aside man, supplanting the old spirit of cooperation with him in all the affairs of life, is very disappointing to me.\" Galveston Daily News, Galveston, Texas, page 23. August 10, 1924.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nikola Tesla" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-never-married-his-answer-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Daily news" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-never-married-his-answer-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/nikola-tesla-1383_daily-news_in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-ne_491579.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/nikola-tesla-1383_daily-news_in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-ne_491579.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/nikola-tesla-1383_daily-news_in-1924-nikola-tesla-was-asked-why-he-ne_491579.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In 1924, Nikola Tesla was asked why he never married? 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