Celebrating International Women’s Day (March 8), we’ve got a handful of 19th century (and one 20th century) literary quotations by, for, and about the position and power of women:
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?” –George Eliot (Marian Evans, 1819-1880), Middlemarch(1872)
“It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.” –Charlotte Bronte(1816-1855), Jane Eyre(1847)
“‘I am sure I am,’ said Margaret, in a firm, decided tone. ‘Loyalty and obedience to wisdom and justice are fine; but it is still finer to defy arbitrary power, unjustly and cruelly used-not on behalf of ourselves, but on behalf of others more helpless.’” –Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell(1810-1865), North and South(1855)
“Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.” –Jane Austen(1775-1817), Persuasion(1817)
“The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.” –Queen Victoria (1819-1901) [source unknown]
“Give us back our suffering, we cry to Heaven in our hearts — suffering rather than indifferentism; for out of nothing comes nothing. But out of suffering may come the cure. Better have pain than paralysis! A hundred struggle and drown in the breakers. One discovers the new world. But rather, ten times rather, die in the surf, heralding the way to that new world, than stand idly on the shore!” –Florence Nightingale(1820-1910), Cassandra(written 1860; published posthumously)
“'What help?’ I asked. 'You’d scorn my help,–as Nature’s self, you say, Has scorned to put her music in my mouth, Because a woman’s. Do you now turn round And ask for what a woman cannot give? […] –am I proved too weak To stand alone, yet strong enough to bear Such leaners on my shoulder? poor to think, Yet rich enough to sympathise with thought? Incompetent to sing, as blackbirds can, Yet competent to love, like [GOD]?’" –Elizabeth Barrett Browning(1806-1861), Aurora Leigh(1856)
" As all virtues nourish each other, and can no otherwise be nourished, the consequence of the admitted fallacy is that men are, after all, not nearly so brave as they ought to be; nor women so gentle. But what is the manly character till it be gentle? The very word magnanimity cannot be thought of in relation to it till it becomes mild, Christ-like. Again, what can a woman be, or do, without bravery? Has she not to struggle with the toils and difficulties which follow upon the mere possession of a mind ? Must she not face physical and moral pain, physical and moral danger ? Is there a day of her life in which there are not conflicts wherein no one can help her— perilous work to be done, in which she can have neither sympathy nor aid? Let her lean upon man as much as he will, how much is it that he can do for her ? from how much can he protect her ? From a few physical perils, and from a very few social evils. This is all.” –Harriet Martineau (1802-1876), “WOMAN. General Treatise on the Education, Morals, Religion, and Overprotection of Women.” (1834-7)
“My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their FASCINATING graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone. I earnestly wish to point out in what true dignity and human happiness consists—I wish to persuade women to endeavour to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them, that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost synonymous with epithets of weakness, and that those beings who are only the objects of pity and that kind of love, which has been termed its sister, will soon become objects of contempt.” –Mary Wollstonecraft(1759-1797), A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
’“Our country,”’ she will say, 'throughout the greater part of its history has treated me as a slave; it has denied me education or any share in its possessions. “Our” country still ceases to be mine if I marry a foreigner. “Our” country denies me the means of protecting myself, forces me to pay others a very large sum annually to protect me, and is so little able, even so, to protect me that Air Raid precautions are written on the wall. Therefore if you insist upon fighting to protect me, or “our” country, let it be understood, soberly and rationally between us, that you are fighting to gratify a sex instinct which I cannot share; to procure benefits which I have not shared and probably will not share; but not to gratify my instincts, or to protect either myself or my country. For,’ the outsider will say, 'in fact, as a woman, I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.’“ –Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), Three Guineas(1938)
Every year, I return to these gems. Ten doesn’t even scratch the surface of these texts, these authors, or the glorious history of women whose thoughts have changed the world.
Tommi and Niko go to Sainsburys with Aleksi in the child seat. Tommi pushed the trolley around Sainsburys in Croydon, it was a dangerous area for someone as young as Aleksi, but Tommi kept them safe. Niko skipped alongside Tommi, holding onto the side of the trolley. They turned the corner up the freezer aisle when suddenly their trolley collided with another. *shock emoji*
Tommi began to apologise when he looked up and saw that it was the one and only Joonas Parkkonen and with his son Robin Packalen in the child seat. He was sitting playing on his Nintendo Switch lite, the yellow one.
Joonas swung his fist toward Tommi, never again would he crash into his trolley with his only child Robin on board. Tommi dodged Joonas’ fist like a professional boxer, which he was and would tell you all about his olympic champion days if you let him, Tommi threw a jab at joonas’ left cornea, when it landed he felt proud and let out a mahoosive roar like the bear he is.
Joonas cowered in fear and sped off with his trolley, throwing Robin from the child seat and into the main part of the trolley landing on the scotch eggs that were already in there squishing them to dust. Robin’s Nintendo Switch flying through the air and landing in Aleksi’s hands. Niko released a celebratory squawk and requested some fajitas for tea to continue the celebration through to the evening. Tommi shook his head and let Niko down gently, however there was no way he could do this, as Joel was at home making a pukka pie that he knew Niko would not enjoy.
Niko cried. He cried so much that Tommi got bored, and walked away with Aleksi. He went to the checkouts hoping Niko would calm down and meet them there. He started placing the items on the conveyor belt when he looked up at the man on the checkouts.
It was only the official Archie Cruz!
Archie looked up at Tommi embarrassed as his band had broken up and he had ended up working in sainsburys. He reluctantly said to Tommi “Do you need any bags today?” Tommi smiled “Naw, av got me bags for life with me son.” Archie looked down at the screen and began scanning Tommi’s items. “You been busy today, son?” Tommi asked, trying to start a conversation with Archie, even though he could tell he wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. “Eh No not really, slow day today innit, its Sunday. The lord’s day.” “Aye, that’s right it is aye, you finishing soon though aye? Short shift on Sunday aye” Tommi asked laughing slightly at his wee joke, “Yeah, yeah a finish at four and it’s just gone three now so not too long left no aye” Archie replied looking somewhat happier after being reminded of the upcoming end to his shift. Aleksi looked over from his seat in the front of the trolley and stared at Archie. Before Archie got a chance to look back at Aleksi’s death stare, Niko appeared! “Yo! Bitch!” Archie cried out towards Niko and gave him a fist bump. “Yo A-Sizzle my man!” Niko’s eyes were still red and puffy from him crying just a moment ago in the freezer aisle over the pukka pies but he pulled himself together quickly when he saw Archie at the tills. “How’s it going man? I thought you still worked at B&M in Lewisham A-Dawg!” Archie laughed and rolled his eyes, “I’m on an absolute mad wan mate, got fired from B&M sadly, they said I wasn’t allowed to sample the products or summit, apparently it’s illegal to like not pay for things these days, who knew?” Niko laughed, shaking his head, “A-Chiller u a wild one man, bless up to you brother, more life my g.”
Archie turned back to Tommi, forgetting he was there for a moment and he was literally working. “Alright lads, your total today is gonna be £42.97, is it cash or card today?.” “Card please son, I’ll just tap it aye, wee contactless things noo in’t it great?” “Yea yea it’s great, whenever you’re ready.” Archie seemed keen to get rid of them, he wasn’t too fond of doing actual work especially when his coworkers could probably do it all for him and he could just take the credit. Tommi tapped his card, fair pleased with himself and this new technology, “Alright, here’s your receipt, see you next week Niko! Remember we’re all meeting in Milton Keynes!” Niko almost forgot! He was meeting Archie and the gang for a get together at spoons next weekend! “Oh yeah! See you there at the roundabout!” Niko beamed remembering how their last night out ended, he slept down on Bournemouth beach, which was odd because they started their night in Eastbourne. “Ta-rah Archie me love!” Aleksi called out while Tommi began to push the trolley away, taking his receipt beforehand.
Tommi, Niko and Aleksi left the shop and headed back to Tommi’s wee car. He was a humble man and did not need a flashy car even though he was one of the richest men in Finland and all the bitches wanted him, even though he already had four families scattered across the country, but the others didn’t need to know about this.
Tommi unlocked the car and helped Aleksi out his child’s seat, Niko opened the boot of the car where Porko was tied up and gagged. Niko placed the shopping beside him and shut the boot despite Porko’s terrified expression. Niko raced Aleksi to the front seat and pushed him out the way into the zebra crossing, almost getting his face smashed in by a Ford Fiesta ST.
Aleksi wailed, Tommi immediately scooped him up off the crossing and threw him in the backseat of his car. Tommi rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out his head, he pushed the trolley into the crossing and walked away, however the trolley had a mind of its own and rolled into a woman and knocked her down. The woman screamed as the trolley ran her over, her hair got trapped in the wheel and she was dragged for miles. She cried “Don’t forget me! Florence Nightingale! That’s not my name! I just liked her or summit or whatever!” Tommi ignored the woman, he had a wife at home who banished him from looking at other women so knocking her down with a trolley was probably the right thing to do. Tommi jumped in the car and started the engine, first making sure both the boys had their seatbelts on, when Rafał’s ‘The Ride’ began blaring out of the speakers, it was currently the no.1 song globally and had been for the last 8 weeks. Tommi loved Poland and Poland loved Tommi
“Kocham Cię Rafał” Tommi muttered to himself, shaking his head. He started singing along as he drove off racing through the car park, not bothering to wait at the zebra crossings.
He flew through the streets of Croydon, not even bothering to stop at the redlights because man don’t play like that, he owns these streets bruv. They pulled into the driveway, and Tommi jumped out the car and helped Aleksi out his car seat, he threw him into the house not even bothering to open the door and Aleksi collapsed in a bundle at the front door slamming into the Ring! doorbell.
Joel was in the kitchen, checking up on his pukka pie which was in the oven. He heard the Ring! doorbell and ran to the door to check. When he opened the door, Aleksi was laying in a pile on the doorstep. Joel picked up Aleksi and threw him in the house and left him to rot in the corner. Tommi opened the boot of the car and picked out Porko and carried him into the house, still in his ropes and chains. Joel took Porko from Tommi and put him in the dog kennel outside, he removed the gag from his mouth and left him there like the puppy he is.
Niko brought the Sainsburys shopping bags for life in and began to unpack the shopping, he put away the Mccain frozen oven chips he begged Tommi for in the shop. He didn’t even like oven chips but he liked the smell of them.
“Niko! I made your favourite! Pukka pie for tea!” Joel knew Niko hated Pukka pies.
Niko began to have a major meltdown, even worse than the one he had in Sainsbury’s, he ran off and grabbed Porko from the dog house out back and unchained him and jumped on his back. Niko rode Porko off into the sunset and never looked back.
To this day, nobody has seen Porko or Niko. However, I have a slight suspicion they may be in Qatar.
The end.
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Please leave your reviews, i’m thinking of making a part two, let me know what you think xx
