The home is the centre and circumference, the start and the finish, of most of our lives.
Charlotte Perkins GilmanRead
A house does not need a wife any more than it needs a husband.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that a home does not require a specific gender role to define its completeness or function.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's quote emphasizes the idea that both a house and a household can operate independently of traditional gender roles. It implies that a home is not solely defined by the presence of a wife or husband, but rather by the relationships and dynamics that exist within it, advocating for a more egalitarian approach to domestic life.
Themes
HomeGender RolesRelationshipsEqualityHousehold
In practice
Example use cases
In a talk about gender equality in household roles, this quote can illustrate that both partners are equally significant.
More from Charlotte Perkins Gilman
All quotes →To swallow and follow, whether old doctrine or new propaganda, is a weakness still dominating the human mind.
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Death is the essential condition of life, not an evil.
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When the mother of the race is free, we shall have a better world, by the easy right of birth and by the calm, slow, friendly forces of evolution.
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