--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What excited and challenged her shipmates…" description: "\"“What excited and challenged her shipmates horrified the churched women and each set believed the other deeply, dangerously flawed. Although they had n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c16/toni-morrison-271_gender-roles_what-excited-and-challenged-her-shipmate_2057840.jpg" --- # What excited and challenged her shipmates horrified the… ![“What excited and challenged her shipmates horrified the churched women and each set believed the other deeply, dangerously flawed. Although they had nothing in common with the views of each other, they had everything in common with one thing: the promise and threat of men. Here, they agreed, was…” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c16/toni-morrison-271_gender-roles_what-excited-and-challenged-her-shipmate_2057840.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c16/toni-morrison-271_gender-roles_what-excited-and-challenged-her-shipmate_2057840.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c16/toni-morrison-271_gender-roles_what-excited-and-challenged-her-shipmate_2057840.jpg) > ““What excited and challenged her shipmates horrified the churched women and each set believed the other deeply, dangerously flawed. Although they had nothing in common with the views of each other, they had everything in common with one thing: the promise and threat of men. Here, they agreed, was where security and risk lay. And both had come to terms.”” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage explores how men’s influence creates both security and danger, causing women to view each other through fear and admiration, revealing deep gender dynamics. **In simple terms:** Men’s power shapes women’s perceptions and relationships. Key Takeaway Recognize how gendered power affects interactions. Themes gender power trust conflict Mood reflective critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - family - political movements - social activism Key Concepts Patriarchy interpersonal dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does male authority affect women’s alliances? - In what ways can women overcome mutual suspicion? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex individual motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Challenged Shipmates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenged-shipmates-3910748/) [Churched Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churched-women-3910747/) [Gender roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-roles/) [Men Agreed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-agreed-2789771/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Shipmates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shipmates-1101372/) [Shipmates Horrified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shipmates-horrified-3910749/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [“And here, shipmates, is true and faithful repentance; not clamorous for pardon, but grateful for punishment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-here-shipmates-is-true-and-faithful-repentance-not-clamorous-for/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“shipmates might depend. That word: teamwork. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-luttrell/shipmates-might-depend-that-word-teamwork-it/) [Marcus Luttrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-luttrell/) > [“Yet I had not been many days shut up with them before I began to be ashamed of my first judgment, when I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/yet-i-had-not-been-many-days-shut-up-with-them-before-i-began-to-be/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [But oh! shipmates! on the starboard hand of every woe, there is a sure delight; and higher the top of that delight, than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/but-oh-shipmates-on-the-starboard-hand-of-every-woe-there-is-a-sure/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-sphere-of-religion-as-in-other-spheres-the-things-about-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When was it that men agreed to respect the appearance and not the reality?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-was-it-that-men-agreed-to-respect-the-appearance-and-not-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The loveliest girl in Berlin, all the young men agreed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-copeland/the-loveliest-girl-in-berlin-all-the-young-men-agreed/) [Lori Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-copeland/) > [Men ... are not agreed about any one thing, not even that heaven is over our heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/men-are-not-agreed-about-any-one-thing-not-even-that-heaven-is-over/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [ The most ingenious men are now agreed, that \[universities\] are only nurseries of prejudice, corruption, barbarism, and pedantry. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/the-most-ingenious-men-are-now-agreed-that-universities-are-only/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [All successful men have agreed in one thing -- they were causationists. They believed that things went not by luck, but by law; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-successful-men-have-agreed-in-one-thing-they-were-causationists/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“While we avoid taking credit for success, women leap at the opportunity to take responsibility for failure. Men tend to externalize the reasons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/while-we-avoid-taking-credit-for-success-women-leap-at-the/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [When you put a halo on concepts - gender roles, religion, nationality or pride - or you put a halo on any topic -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/when-you-put-a-halo-on-concepts-gender-roles-religion-nationality-or/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [“Gender is a shell game. What is a man? Whatever a woman isn't. What is a woman? Whatever a man is not. Tap on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/gender-is-a-shell-game-what-is-a-man-whatever-a-woman-isn-t-what-is-a/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [“Though Jones had formerly believed himself in the very prime of youth and vigor, his first encounter with Lady Bellaston both vexed and puzzled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/though-jones-had-formerly-believed-himself-in-the-very-prime-of-youth/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [“Because human beings lived then in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival; the physically stronger person was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/because-human-beings-lived-then-in-a-world-in-which-physical-strength/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More Gender roles quotes > [“Because human beings lived then in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival; the physically stronger person was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/because-human-beings-lived-then-in-a-world-in-which-physical-strength/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [“Though Jones had formerly believed himself in the very prime of youth and vigor, his first encounter with Lady Bellaston both vexed and puzzled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/though-jones-had-formerly-believed-himself-in-the-very-prime-of-youth/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [“Gender is a shell game. What is a man? Whatever a woman isn't. What is a woman? Whatever a man is not. Tap on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-alderman/gender-is-a-shell-game-what-is-a-man-whatever-a-woman-isn-t-what-is-a/) [Naomi Alderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-alderman/) > [When you put a halo on concepts - gender roles, religion, nationality or pride - or you put a halo on any topic -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mangan/when-you-put-a-halo-on-concepts-gender-roles-religion-nationality-or/) [Dan Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mangan/) > [“While we avoid taking credit for success, women leap at the opportunity to take responsibility for failure. Men tend to externalize the reasons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/while-we-avoid-taking-credit-for-success-women-leap-at-the/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [You know?" he repeated. She smiled, so he kissed her. "You're not the Han Solo in this relationship, you know." "I'm totally the Han…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/you-know-he-repeated-she-smiled-so-he-kissed-her-you-re-not-the-han/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [Perhaps it is time to debate culture. The common story is that in 'real' African culture, before it was tainted by the West, gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/perhaps-it-is-time-to-debate-culture-the-common-story-is-that-in-real/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [“The only feeling that a closer intimacy has created in him for his wife is that of indulgent contempt. As there is no equality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/the-only-feeling-that-a-closer-intimacy-has-created-in-him-for-his/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“Liberty is terrifying but it is also exhilarating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/liberty-is-terrifying-but-it-is-also-exhilarating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Even though society has come a long way in correcting the inequalities between men and women in the workplace, it still has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bozoma-saint-john/even-though-society-has-come-a-long-way-in-correcting-the/) [Bozoma Saint John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bozoma-saint-john/) > [“Camouflage your soul! Hide!Hide!Hide! The gender police are here. The gender police are everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-croome/camouflage-your-soul-hide-hide-hide-the-gender-police-are-here-the/) [Judy Croome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-croome/) > [“ Rio : – What the hell is the point of worrying about it? I don’t see Geer or Pang or Stick moping. 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In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carina-chocano/sex-may-be-completely-out-in-the-open-now-but-it-s-still-defined-and/) [Carina Chocano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carina-chocano/) [Browse all 178 Gender roles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-roles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What excited and challenged her shipmates horrified the churched women and each set believed the other deeply, dangerously flawed. Although they had nothing in common with the views of each other, they had everything in common with one thing: the promise and threat of men. Here, they agreed, was where security and risk lay. 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