---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What makes a woman into a doormat? What…"
description: "\"“What makes a woman into a doormat? What makes her see some quite ordinary other person as a looming Goliath? And are not these relationships such an o..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/nuala-o-faolain-22668_quote_what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-m_1932695.jpg"
---

#  What makes a woman into a doormat? What makes her see some…

![“What makes a woman into a doormat? What makes her see some quite ordinary other person as a looming Goliath? And are not these relationships such an outrage to reality that they cannot last a lifetime?” quote by Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/nuala-o-faolain-22668_quote_what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-m_1932695.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/nuala-o-faolain-22668_quote_what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-m_1932695.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/nuala-o-faolain-22668_quote_what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-m_1932695.jpg)

> ““What makes a woman into a doormat? What makes her see some quite ordinary other person as a looming Goliath? And are not these relationships such an outrage to reality that they cannot last a lifetime?””

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

## 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 questions why women tolerate oppressive relationships, seeing ordinary partners as overwhelming threats, and how such dynamics clash with reality.

**In simple terms:** Why do women accept demeaning relationships?

Key Takeaway

Challenge and harmful relationships.

Themes

gender power relationships

Mood

critical empathetic

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- personal boundaries
- social expectations
- empowerment
- null

Key Concepts

sociology psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What factors keep someone in a bad relationship?
- How can societal norms be changed?

A Different Perspective

May oversimplify complex personal situations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [The worst of marriage is that it makes a woman believe that all men are just as easy to fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-worst-of-marriage-is-that-it-makes-a-woman-believe-that-all-men/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [When a man makes a woman his wife, it's the highest compliment he can pay her, and it's usually the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/when-a-man-makes-a-woman-his-wife-it-s-the-highest-compliment-he-can-2/)

[Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/)

> [Attitude makes the woman, darling!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jacobson/attitude-makes-the-woman-darling/)

[Eric Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jacobson/)

> [“Makeup often makes a woman look like another woman; and/or like she is another woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/makeup-often-makes-a-woman-look-like-another-woman-and-or-like-she-is/)

[Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)

> [Cleverness is like rouge - liberal application makes a woman look common and desperate. Wit is knowing how to apply it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/cleverness-is-like-rouge-liberal-application-makes-a-woman-look/)

[Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/)

> [“You ask me what makes a woman comely?" He tapped one finger lightly against her temple and said, "Thoughts, missus. It's thoughts that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-kent/you-ask-me-what-makes-a-woman-comely-he-tapped-one-finger-lightly/)

[Kathleen Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-kent/)

> [A simple dose of Hey, Im thinking of you makes your woman smile and keeps that momentum going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-simple-dose-of-hey-im-thinking-of-you-makes-your-woman-smile-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [But don't try to find an untroublesome woman. She will dull out on you. What makes a woman good in bed makes it impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/but-don-t-try-to-find-an-untroublesome-woman-she-will-dull-out-on-you/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [It is God who makes woman beautiful, it is the devil who makes her pretty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-god-who-makes-woman-beautiful-it-is-the-devil-who-makes-her/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [For every dollar that a man makes, a woman makes 70 cents. That doesn't make sense. That's not fair, the man's only left with 30.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo/for-every-dollar-that-a-man-makes-a-woman-makes-70-cents-that-doesn-t/)

Bo

> [Some people think having large breasts makes a woman stupid. Actually, it's quite the opposite: a woman having large breasts makes men stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/some-people-think-having-large-breasts-makes-a-woman-stupid-actually/)

[Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/)

> [Nothings makes a woman look older that a rich costume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/nothings-makes-a-woman-look-older-that-a-rich-costume/)

[Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/)

> [When a man makes a woman his wife it's the highest compliment he can pay her – and usually it's the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/when-a-man-makes-a-woman-his-wife-it-s-the-highest-compliment-he-can/)

[Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/)

> [Glamour is what makes a man ask for your telephone number. But it also is what makes a woman ask for the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilly-dache/glamour-is-what-makes-a-man-ask-for-your-telephone-number-but-it-also/)

Lilly Dache

> [I love a man who makes his woman the center of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenya-moore/i-love-a-man-who-makes-his-woman-the-center-of-the-universe/)

[Kenya Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenya-moore/)

## More by Nuala O'Faolain

> [“...time is the third party to every relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/time-is-the-third-party-to-every-relationship/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [Novels are completed when they are finished, but the memoir changes its own conclusion by virtue of being written... I was not at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/novels-are-completed-when-they-are-finished-but-the-memoir-changes/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [Lovers are allowed to be as cruel as anything to the one who dissappoints them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/lovers-are-allowed-to-be-as-cruel-as-anything-to-the-one-who/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [If there were nothing else, reading would--obviously--be worth living for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/if-there-were-nothing-else-reading-would-obviously-be-worth-living-for/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [“...Though it seemed trivial, now, to describe a place as if what is was, was what I could see of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/though-it-seemed-trivial-now-to-describe-a-place-as-if-what-is-was/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [..though silence must add intensity to your intimate moments, it must also shrivel your soul to lie beside someone who doesn't talk to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/though-silence-must-add-intensity-to-your-intimate-moments-it-must/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [“States have no goodness. They suppress these villains here and promote those villains there, with no aim but self-aggrandizement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/states-have-no-goodness-they-suppress-these-villains-here-and-promote/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [“...when I was young, I learned to feel for the harshness under every soft appearance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/when-i-was-young-i-learned-to-feel-for-the-harshness-under-every-soft/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [“I tried not to think about it. But every so often it would burst out of me - why did he do something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/i-tried-not-to-think-about-it-but-every-so-often-it-would-burst-out/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [My life burned inside me. Even such as it was, it was the only record of me, and it was my only creation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/my-life-burned-inside-me-even-such-as-it-was-it-was-the-only-record/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [I did believe, from my experience of life and of looking at the world, that men hated women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/i-did-believe-from-my-experience-of-life-and-of-looking-at-the-world/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [“There was nothing between the man and me - - nothing, not even liking. But because of the memory of some wholeness, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/there-was-nothing-between-the-man-and-me-nothing-not-even-liking-but/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [“They're fathers second, Jimmy said. They're men first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/they-re-fathers-second-jimmy-said-they-re-men-first/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [“But you know, there's one simple thing I see absolutely clearly, now that I am so very old. I looked at her. The Albert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/but-you-know-there-s-one-simple-thing-i-see-absolutely-clearly-now/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [A bugler sounded the Last Post. Heartbreak made audible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/a-bugler-sounded-the-last-post-heartbreak-made-audible/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

[Explore all 26 Nuala O'Faolain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

## More Ordinary person quotes

> [When the camera is on, I am an actor; otherwise, I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/when-the-camera-is-on-i-am-an-actor-otherwise-i-am-an-ordinary-person/)

[Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/)

> [Even though I am nearly deaf, I seem to be gifted with a kind of inner hearing which enables me to detect sounds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/even-though-i-am-nearly-deaf-i-seem-to-be-gifted-with-a-kind-of-inner/)

[Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/)

> [“The knowledge of the Spirit is the true secret of creativity, leadership and happiness. It is spiritual intelligence that makes an ordinary person a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/awdhesh-singh/the-knowledge-of-the-spirit-is-the-true-secret-of-creativity/)

[Awdhesh Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/awdhesh-singh/)

> [Guess what? I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/guess-what-i-am-an-ordinary-person/)

[Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/)

> [The truth is that God can do anything He pleases through an ordinary person who is fully dedicated to Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-that-god-can-do-anything-he-pleases-through-an-ordinary/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I was just an ordinary person before I met you, but ever since you came into my life everything feels better than ever before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/i-was-just-an-ordinary-person-before-i-met-you-but-ever-since-you/)

Superman

> [I reject all evidence that my fabulous beloved is an ordinary person who worries, watches TV, and has bouts of indigestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-reject-all-evidence-that-my-fabulous-beloved-is-an-ordinary-person/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The vice president had a bargaining asset, however, that no ordinary person has: He was next in line to the presidency. I saw no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-richardson/the-vice-president-had-a-bargaining-asset-however-that-no-ordinary/)

[Elliot Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-richardson/)

> [The ordinary person senses the greatness of the odds against him even without thought or analysis, and he adapts his attitudes unconsciously. A huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-ordinary-person-senses-the-greatness-of-the-odds-against-him-even/)

[Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/)

> [The capitalists owned everything in the world, and everyone else was their slave. They owned all the land, all the houses, all the factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-capitalists-owned-everything-in-the-world-and-everyone-else-was/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [All good qualities must be sown and cultivated. We can’t expect to change overnight from an ordinary person into one with high realizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-good-qualities-must-be-sown-and-cultivated-we-can-t-expect-to/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [A hero is an ordinary person doing things in an extra ordinary way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/a-hero-is-an-ordinary-person-doing-things-in-an-extra-ordinary-way/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [“the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought all our lives. Oscar Wilde said: “Each man kills the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-fourth-obstacle-the-fear-of-realizing-the-dream-for-which-we/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“You know what I am?" he says. "What?" "I'm an ordinary person." "Come on." "I know. Who isn't an ordinary person? How horribly presumptuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/you-know-what-i-am-he-says-what-i-m-an-ordinary-person-come-on-i-know/)

[Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/)

> [“I was an ordinary person who studied hard. There are no miracle people. It happens they get interested in this thing and they learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/i-was-an-ordinary-person-who-studied-hard-there-are-no-miracle-people/)

[Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/)

Browse all 195 Ordinary person quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“What makes a woman into a doormat? What makes her see some quite ordinary other person as a looming Goliath? And are not these relationships such an outrage to reality that they cannot last a lifetime?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nuala O'Faolain"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-makes-her-see-some-quite/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ordinary person"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-makes-her-see-some-quite/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/nuala-o-faolain-22668_quote_what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-m_1932695.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/nuala-o-faolain-22668_quote_what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-m_1932695.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/nuala-o-faolain-22668_quote_what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-m_1932695.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What makes a woman into a doormat? What makes her see some quite ordinary other person as a looming Goliath?…” — Nuala O'Faolain",
                "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": "Nuala O'Faolain",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“What makes a woman into a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-makes-her-see-some-quite/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-makes-her-see-some-quite/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
