--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can man be free if woman be a slave?" description: "\"Can man be free if woman be a slave?\" — Percy Bysshe Shelley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_be-a-slave_can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave-1319_1319326.jpg" --- # Can man be free if woman be a slave? ![“Can man be free if woman be a slave?” quote by Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_be-a-slave_can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave-1319_1319326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_be-a-slave_can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave-1319_1319326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_be-a-slave_can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave-1319_1319326.jpg) > “Can man be free if woman be a slave?” [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom cannot exist when any group is enslaved; true liberty is universal. **In simple terms:** Freedom requires equality for all. Key Takeaway Advocate for universal rights. Themes freedom equality justice Mood hopeful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - civil rights movements - gender equality - education reform Key Concepts human rights philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does freedom mean to you? - How can we address systemic oppression? A Different Perspective Idealism may overlook practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) ## Related quotes > [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“I am your servant. I shall not be free. You will protect me; you will keep me safe; you will guard me. You will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ancient-egyptian-slave-contract/i-am-your-servant-i-shall-not-be-free-you-will-protect-me-you-will/) Ancient Egyptian slave contract > [“A religious woman is a slave that advocates the slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/a-religious-woman-is-a-slave-that-advocates-the-slavery/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“Let me give you a piece of advice,” she murmured. “Rome only exists because of slaves. That’s how it functions. We are its muscles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-livingston/let-me-give-you-a-piece-of-advice-she-murmured-rome-only-exists/) [Lesley Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-livingston/) > [“I have also fantasised myself to be his female slave, but this does not suffice, for after all every woman can be the slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-freiherr-von-krafft-ebing/i-have-also-fantasised-myself-to-be-his-female-slave-but-this-does/) Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing > [La femme marie e est un esclave qu'il faut savoir mettre sur un tro" n e. A married woman is a slave whom one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/la-femme-marie-e-est-un-esclave-qu-il-faut-savoir-mettre-sur-un-tro-n/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I do not understand that because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-do-not-understand-that-because-i-do-not-want-a-negro-woman-for-a/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“A woman could become a slave to those experienced hands. He touched her with perfect sensuality, drawing acute pleasure from her sore flesh. Leaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/a-woman-could-become-a-slave-to-those-experienced-hands-he-touched/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Woman is the slave of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-b-smith/woman-is-the-slave-of-the-world/) [C.B. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-b-smith/) > [Man is free; yet we must not suppose that he is at liberty to do everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/man-is-free-yet-we-must-not-suppose-that-he-is-at-liberty-to-do/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-self-knowledge-without-understanding-the-working-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/knowledge-makes-a-man-unfit-to-be-a-slave/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-a-man-has-tasted-freedom-he-will-never-be-content-to-be-a-slave/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/freedom-is-for-the-educated-people-who-fought-for-it-we-were-slaves/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) ## More by Percy Bysshe Shelley > [The everlasting universe of things Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves, Now dark--now glittering--now reflecting gloom-- Now lending splendour, where from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-everlasting-universe-of-things-flows-through-the-mind-and-rolls/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [The quick Dreams, The passion-winged Ministers of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-quick-dreams-the-passion-winged-ministers-of-thought/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/hail-to-thee-blithe-spirit/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [The jealous keys of truth's eternal doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-jealous-keys-of-truth-s-eternal-doors/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Though we eat little flesh and drink no wine, Yet let's be merry; we'll have tea and toast; Custards for supper, and an endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/though-we-eat-little-flesh-and-drink-no-wine-yet-let-s-be-merry-we-ll/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [A dream has power to poison sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/a-dream-has-power-to-poison-sleep/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Titles are tinsel, power a corrupter, glorya bubble, and excessive wealth a libel on its possessor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/titles-are-tinsel-power-a-corrupter-glorya-bubble-and-excessive/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i-bleed/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Poets and philosophers are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/poets-and-philosophers-are-the-unacknowledged-legislators-of-the-world/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Dar'st thou amid the varied multitude To live alone, an isolated thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/dar-st-thou-amid-the-varied-multitude-to-live-alone-an-isolated-thing/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Spirit of BEAUTY, that dost consecrate With thine own hues all thou dost shine upon Of human thought or form, where art thou gone?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/spirit-of-beauty-that-dost-consecrate-with-thine-own-hues-all-thou/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [I love tranquil solitude, And such society As is quiet, wise, and good; Between thee and me What difference? but thou dost possess The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-love-tranquil-solitude-and-such-society-as-is-quiet-wise-and-good/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [The practice of utter sincerity towards other men would avail to no good end, if they were incapable of practising it towards their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-practice-of-utter-sincerity-towards-other-men-would-avail-to-no/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Thou shoreless flood, which in thy ebb and flow claspest the limits of mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/thou-shoreless-flood-which-in-thy-ebb-and-flow-claspest-the-limits-of/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/senseless-is-the-breast-and-cold-which-relenting-love-would-fold/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) [Explore all 533 Percy Bysshe Shelley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) ## More Be a slave quotes > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/freedom-is-for-the-educated-people-who-fought-for-it-we-were-slaves/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-a-man-has-tasted-freedom-he-will-never-be-content-to-be-a-slave/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/knowledge-makes-a-man-unfit-to-be-a-slave/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-we-could-not-survive-as-a-free-land/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If you're not confident in the authority of the Scriptures, you will be a slave to what sounds right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/if-you-re-not-confident-in-the-authority-of-the-scriptures-you-will/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Christ preaches only servitude and dependence... True Christians are made to be slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/christ-preaches-only-servitude-and-dependence-true-christians-are/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-giving-freedom-to-the-slave-we-assure-freedom-to-the-free/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Everyone wants a happy life without difficulties or suffering. We create many of the problems we face. No one intentionally creates problems, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/everyone-wants-a-happy-life-without-difficulties-or-suffering-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Unless you have found something in life to live for that is more important to you than your own life, you will always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/unless-you-have-found-something-in-life-to-live-for-that-is-more/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [People allow themselves to be slaves of their bad habits and society's bad habits - but they have free will, and if they wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/people-allow-themselves-to-be-slaves-of-their-bad-habits-and-society/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slavery-ended-african-americans/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [The Grecians and Romans were strongly possessed of the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time they were determined not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-grecians-and-romans-were-strongly-possessed-of-the-spirit-of/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Every lord's mansion stands on the foundation of your bones, soldier, every field has been saturated with your sweat, and you, peasant, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/every-lord-s-mansion-stands-on-the-foundation-of-your-bones-soldier/) [Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/) > [I decided I didn't want to be a slave to any passion any more except for my work, i had too many passions -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/i-decided-i-didn-t-want-to-be-a-slave-to-any-passion-any-more-except/) [Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/) Browse all 130 Be a slave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Can man be free if woman be a slave?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Percy Bysshe Shelley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be a slave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_be-a-slave_can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave-1319_1319326.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_be-a-slave_can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave-1319_1319326.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_be-a-slave_can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave-1319_1319326.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can man be free if woman be a slave?” — Percy Bysshe Shelley", "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": "Percy Bysshe Shelley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can man be free if woman...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/can-man-be-free-if-woman-be-a-slave/#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 } } ] } ```