--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A woman can never be angry; she can only…" description: "\"“A woman can never be angry; she can only be neurotic, hysterical, frustrated.”\" — Shashi Deshpande" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/shashi-deshpande-34774_anger_a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only_1503039.png" --- # A woman can never be angry; she can only be neurotic… ![“A woman can never be angry; she can only be neurotic, hysterical, frustrated.” quote by Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/shashi-deshpande-34774_anger_a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only_1503039.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/shashi-deshpande-34774_anger_a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only_1503039.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/shashi-deshpande-34774_anger_a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only_1503039.png) > ““A woman can never be angry; she can only be neurotic, hysterical, frustrated.”” [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Women are portrayed as unable to express anger directly, instead showing distress through neurotic or hysterical behavior. **In simple terms:** Women show distress, not anger. Key Takeaway Recognize and validate women’s emotional expressions. Themes gender emotion expression stigma Mood reflective critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - family dynamics - workplace interactions - mental health counseling Key Concepts psychology social norms Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling affect women's self‑perception? - What alternative ways can women express anger? A Different Perspective May overlook genuine anger, labeling it as pathology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ## Related quotes > [Forgiving people are less likely to be hateful, depressed, hostile, anxious, angry, and neurotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-lyubomirsky/forgiving-people-are-less-likely-to-be-hateful-depressed-hostile/) [Sonja Lyubomirsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-lyubomirsky/) > [The moment a man or a woman becomes angry they show a great weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilford-woodruff/the-moment-a-man-or-a-woman-becomes-angry-they-show-a-great-weakness/) [Wilford Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilford-woodruff/) > [My friend, there is nothing so sexy as a woman who is angry. Perhaps when she is even throwing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marat-safin/my-friend-there-is-nothing-so-sexy-as-a-woman-who-is-angry-perhaps/) [Marat Safin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marat-safin/) > [If it's unseemly and possibly dangerous for a man to be angry, it's totally unacceptable for a woman to be angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/if-it-s-unseemly-and-possibly-dangerous-for-a-man-to-be-angry-it-s/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [You should make a woman angry if you wish her to love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/you-should-make-a-woman-angry-if-you-wish-her-to-love/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [“I swear, the only thing worse than an angry woman, is an angry woman who’s got a big stick to whack you with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-muchamore/i-swear-the-only-thing-worse-than-an-angry-woman-is-an-angry-woman/) [Robert Muchamore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-muchamore/) > [Never ask a woman why she's angry at you. She will either get angrier at you for not knowing, or she'll tell you. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-shoales/never-ask-a-woman-why-she-s-angry-at-you-she-will-either-get-angrier/) [Ian Shoales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-shoales/) > [Anyway, these books I love, they’re all books by men—every last one of them. Because if it’s unseemly and possibly dangerous for a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/anyway-these-books-i-love-they-re-all-books-by-men-every-last-one-of/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [She writhes under her life. 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Percy What'shisname? Who was it? 'GARRATY!' the crowd screamed deliriously. 'GARRATY, GARRATY, GARRATY!'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king-as-richard-bachman/which-one-hadn-t-he-walked-down-was-it-barkovitch-collie-parker-percy/) Stephen King as Richard Bachman ## More by Shashi Deshpande > [“I know that safety is always unattainable. You're never safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/i-know-that-safety-is-always-unattainable-you-re-never-safe/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [“Was’ and ‘is’ – in English there is very little difference between these two words. Only one letter more , just two letters different.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/was-and-is-in-english-there-is-very-little-difference-between-these/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [I don't like to call myself a feminist writer. I say I'm a feminist, but I don't write to propagate an ism,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/i-don-t-like-to-call-myself-a-feminist-writer-i-say-i-m-a-feminist/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [Marriage is a very strange thing. It’s a very public institution, it’s meant to tell the world that two people are going to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/marriage-is-a-very-strange-thing-it-s-a-very-public-institution-it-s/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [It's not just that life is cruel, but that in the very process of our birth we submit to life's cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/it-s-not-just-that-life-is-cruel-but-that-in-the-very-process-of-our/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [“To overcome your fear of death, you have to move from ‘the world ends with me’ to ‘the world goes on without me’. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/to-overcome-your-fear-of-death-you-have-to-move-from-the-world-ends/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [“Surely there comes a moment in every human's life when he or she says, like the Sibyl - I wish to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/surely-there-comes-a-moment-in-every-human-s-life-when-he-or-she-says/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [Things can never be as they were. It's astonishing how we comment on change, as if change is something remarkable. On the contrary, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/things-can-never-be-as-they-were-it-s-astonishing-how-we-comment-on/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [A wife should always be few feet behind her husband. If he is an MA you should be a BA.If he is 5'4'tall you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/a-wife-should-always-be-few-feet-behind-her-husband-if-he-is-an-ma/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [“Women without men, I realized then, are totally different creatures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/women-without-men-i-realized-then-are-totally-different-creatures/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [. . . a friend . . . showed me the kitchen in her new home with the words, "This is my office." I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/a-friend-showed-me-the-kitchen-in-her-new-home-with-the-words-this-is/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [“I have often watched in fascination the leaps and bounds of her mind as, starting from the banks of uncomfortable facts, she reaches the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/i-have-often-watched-in-fascination-the-leaps-and-bounds-of-her-mind/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) > [Self-revelation is a cruel process. The real picture, the real you never emerges. Looking for it is as bewildering as trying to know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/self-revelation-is-a-cruel-process-the-real-picture-the-real-you/) [Shashi Deshpande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) [Explore all 14 Shashi Deshpande quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A woman can never be angry; she can only be neurotic, hysterical, frustrated.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shashi Deshpande" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only-be-neurotic-hysterical/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only-be-neurotic-hysterical/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/shashi-deshpande-34774_anger_a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only_1503039.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/shashi-deshpande-34774_anger_a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only_1503039.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cce/shashi-deshpande-34774_anger_a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only_1503039.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A woman can never be angry; she can only be neurotic, hysterical, frustrated.” — Shashi Deshpande", "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": "Shashi Deshpande", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-deshpande/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A woman can never be angry;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only-be-neurotic-hysterical/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-deshpande/a-woman-can-never-be-angry-she-can-only-be-neurotic-hysterical/#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 } } ] } ```