--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have an ambivalent relationship with…" description: "\"I have an ambivalent relationship with Margaret Thatcher. She came to power in May 1979 - a month before my 11th birthday. I was far too young to have ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/sara-sheridan-1032_ambivalent_i-have-an-ambivalent-relationship-with-m_2716779.png" --- # I have an ambivalent relationship with Margaret Thatcher… ![“I have an ambivalent relationship with Margaret Thatcher. She came to power in May 1979 - a month before my 11th birthday. I was far too young to have developed a great deal of political awareness. I remember it, though - my mother excited at the dinner table because Britain had its first female…” quote by Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/sara-sheridan-1032_ambivalent_i-have-an-ambivalent-relationship-with-m_2716779.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/sara-sheridan-1032_ambivalent_i-have-an-ambivalent-relationship-with-m_2716779.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/sara-sheridan-1032_ambivalent_i-have-an-ambivalent-relationship-with-m_2716779.png) > “I have an ambivalent relationship with Margaret Thatcher. She came to power in May 1979 - a month before my 11th birthday. I was far too young to have developed a great deal of political awareness. I remember it, though - my mother excited at the dinner table because Britain had its first female prime minister.” [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childhood perception of a historic female leader shaped personal political awareness, despite limited understanding at the time. **In simple terms:** Early exposure to a female leader influences political view. Key Takeaway Recognize early influences on beliefs. Themes politics gender history identity Mood nostalgic analytical Type memoir historical When to use this quote - education - political activism - personal growth Key Concepts sociology psychology history Questions to Reflect On - How did early events shape your values? - What role do symbols play in identity? A Different Perspective Memory may be romanticized or incomplete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambivalent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambivalent/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Britain Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain-female-2799042/) [Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/came/) [Deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deal/) [Developed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developed/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Dinner table](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-table/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-deal/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [I remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-remember/) [Margaret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/margaret/) [Margaret thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/margaret-thatcher/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Minister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minister/) [Month](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/month/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-awareness/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Prime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prime/) [Prime minister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prime-minister/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Relationship Margaret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship-margaret-1779180/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [She](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/she/) [Table](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/table/) [Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thatcher/) [Thatcher Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thatcher-came-1072372/) [Though](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/though/) [Too](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [Barbara Castle should have been Labour's - and Britain's - first female prime minister. What a role model she would have been: passionate, fiery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hewitt/barbara-castle-should-have-been-labour-s-and-britain-s-first-female/) [Patricia Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hewitt/) > [Mrs Thatcher not only made history by becoming Britain's first female prime minister, she was the first woman to hold any comparable position in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwasi-kwarteng/mrs-thatcher-not-only-made-history-by-becoming-britain-s-first-female/) [Kwasi Kwarteng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwasi-kwarteng/) > [ It was a remarkable relationship. Margaret \[Thatcher\] and I had a love/hate relationship. She was always defending the South African regime and we had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/it-was-a-remarkable-relationship-margaret-thatcher-and-i-had-a-love/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) > [“Because no one person changes a relationship." --Margaret Evans, BTH”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-kehoe/because-no-one-person-changes-a-relationship-margaret-evans-bth/) [Kristen Kehoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-kehoe/) > [“Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship. ~Margaret Mead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/sisters-is-probably-the-most-competitive-relationship-within-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Thatcher came under pressure from right wing backbenchers to shut up the Prince of Wales and there was a deal done between them where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/thatcher-came-under-pressure-from-right-wing-backbenchers-to-shut-up/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [As Margaret Thatcher came up in the world, so the Conservative Party came down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-critchley/as-margaret-thatcher-came-up-in-the-world-so-the-conservative-party/) [Julian Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-critchley/) > [“and when Mrs Thatcher came to the college for a scientific symposium Tyson was deputed to take her round the Common Room. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/and-when-mrs-thatcher-came-to-the-college-for-a-scientific-symposium/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Once upon a time, I thought that politics was the name we gave to our higher instincts. That was before Margaret Thatcher, who came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/once-upon-a-time-i-thought-that-politics-was-the-name-we-gave-to-our/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [Remember how Margaret Thatcher came to believe that abroad was more important than at home? Didn't do her much good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/remember-how-margaret-thatcher-came-to-believe-that-abroad-was-more/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [“Without critical work, political awareness is likely to remain superficial and rhetorical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/without-critical-work-political-awareness-is-likely-to-remain/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [ Culture and politics were inseparable \[in the Sixties\], which gave a soundtrack to political awareness and activism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/culture-and-politics-were-inseparable-in-the-sixties-which-gave-a/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [It transmitted because on the campuses, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was recruiting, was organizing. Students for a Democratic Society was founded at Michigan just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-transmitted-because-on-the-campuses-student-nonviolent/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I have a very real political awareness that at least on a transient basis the more drastic action taken by the president, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-have-a-very-real-political-awareness-that-at-least-on-a-transient/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Sunday was the normal day for the political awareness session at sea. Ordinarily Putin would have officiated, reading some Pravada editorials, followed by selected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/sunday-was-the-normal-day-for-the-political-awareness-session-at-sea/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## More by Sara Sheridan > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Kissing her is like drinking salted water, he thinks. His thirst only increases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/kissing-her-is-like-drinking-salted-water-he-thinks-his-thirst-only/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“We are in the middle of the biggest revolution in reading and writing since the advent of the Gutenberg press.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/we-are-in-the-middle-of-the-biggest-revolution-in-reading-and-writing/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“The bonds between a family are strange indeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-bonds-between-a-family-are-strange-indeed/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-is-full-of-blank-spaces-but-good-stories-invariably-are-not/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“The mass communications that could enable our politics for good have instead turned it into a bland conglomeration of stinted opinion cloaked in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-mass-communications-that-could-enable-our-politics-for-good-have/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-ve-found-myself-moved-by-letters-and-diaries-in-archives-as-well-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/grabbing-readers-by-the-imagination-is-a-writer-s-job/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective. I dumped science at an early age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-an-historical-novelist-there-are-few-jobs-more-retrospective-i/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Crime writers, I've noticed, can be jumpy. They live in a world where there are murderers on the loose and they haven't been caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/crime-writers-i-ve-noticed-can-be-jumpy-they-live-in-a-world-where/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“The writing talent of Edinburgh is textured - we have poets, novelists, non-fiction writers, dramatists and more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-writing-talent-of-edinburgh-is-textured-we-have-poets-novelists/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Communism,” I observed, “is a pile of wank.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/communism-i-observed-is-a-pile-of-wank/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [A word out of place or an interesting choice of vocabulary can spawn a whole character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/a-word-out-of-place-or-an-interesting-choice-of-vocabulary-can-spawn/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) [Explore all 305 Sara Sheridan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More Ambivalent quotes > [“I find it ironic that someone so ambivalent about living fights so hard to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-grover-swank/i-find-it-ironic-that-someone-so-ambivalent-about-living-fights-so/) [Denise Grover Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-grover-swank/) > [Americans have always had an ambivalent attitude toward intelligence. When they feel threatened, they want a lot of it, and when they don't, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/americans-have-always-had-an-ambivalent-attitude-toward-intelligence/) [Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/) > [When you 'make good,' you find out who your real friends are. You find out pretty quick. And it's a very ambivalent feeling, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-camp/when-you-make-good-you-find-out-who-your-real-friends-are-you-find/) [Greg Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-camp/) > [There is scarcely room for doubt that something in the psychological relation of a mother-in-law to a son-in-law breeds hostility between them and makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/there-is-scarcely-room-for-doubt-that-something-in-the-psychological/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [The attitude of the American public toward the external projection of American power has been much more ambivalent. The public supported America's engagement in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/the-attitude-of-the-american-public-toward-the-external-projection-of/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Gollum was so interesting to me because he's morally ambivalent, and I love the notion of a quest that is to lose something. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/gollum-was-so-interesting-to-me-because-he-s-morally-ambivalent-and-i/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [The American public is somewhat ambivalent about what they expect out of thenational forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-regula/the-american-public-is-somewhat-ambivalent-about-what-they-expect-out/) [Ralph Regula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-regula/) > [What does it mean then to live with one another? It can be unhappy, it can be wretched, it can be ambivalent, it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/what-does-it-mean-then-to-live-with-one-another-it-can-be-unhappy-it/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“The unconscious operation of the attachment system via internal working models probably plays an important part in the choice of marital partner and relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-holmes/the-unconscious-operation-of-the-attachment-system-via-internal/) [Jeremy Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-holmes/) > [I'd like to see a much more open Monarchy, myself. I used to think they were completely useless and we should get rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/i-d-like-to-see-a-much-more-open-monarchy-myself-i-used-to-think-they/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [The more ambivalent you are and the more uncertain you are, then you can get something that you cannot anticipate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-kazan/the-more-ambivalent-you-are-and-the-more-uncertain-you-are-then-you/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-kazan/) > [We all parent the best we can. Being human, we're ambivalent. We want perfection for our babies, but we also need sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/we-all-parent-the-best-we-can-being-human-we-re-ambivalent-we-want/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [It's time to "stop being ambivalent." ... They (groups like the Islamic State) have no ideology beyond violence and chaos and the slaughter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-time-to-stop-being-ambivalent-they-groups-like-the-islamic-state/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We all have ambivalent feelings toward work ... We try to avoid it, and yet we seem to require it for our emotional well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/we-all-have-ambivalent-feelings-toward-work-we-try-to-avoid-it-and/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [I worked with fantastic actors, fantastic directors. People I would never otherwise have met. Was I limited? Yes. Did I use it as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-golino/i-worked-with-fantastic-actors-fantastic-directors-people-i-would/) [Valeria Golino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-golino/) [Browse all 89 Ambivalent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambivalent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have an ambivalent relationship with Margaret Thatcher. She came to power in May 1979 - a month before my 11th birthday. I was far too young to have developed a great deal of political awareness. 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