There's life for you. Spend the best years of your life studying penmanship and rhetoric and syntax and Beowulf and George Eliot, and then somebody steals your pencil.
Dorothy ParkerRead
The ladies men admire, I've heard, Would shudder at a wicked word. Their candle gives a single light, They'd rather stay at home at night. They do not keep awake 'till three, Nor read erotic poetry. They never sanction the impure, Nor recognize an overture. They shrink from powders and from paints... So far I've had no complaints.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously critiques the ideal of women as pure and demure, highlighting their disinterest in societal expectations of romance or sensuality.
In this quote, Dorothy Parker reflects on the traditional qualities attributed to women that are admired by men, such as purity and modesty. She presents a satirical view of these ideals by suggesting that the women men admire are not only conservative in their behavior but also disdain romantic or sensual pursuits, implying that such characteristics might actually be undesirable and that many men who praise them do so without understanding their true nature or desires.
Themes
WomenAdmirationPurityHumorSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on societal expectations for women, this quote can be used to highlight the absurdity of traditional views.
More from Dorothy Parker
All quotes →My land is bare of chattering folk; / the clouds are low along the ridges, / and sweet's the air with curly smoke / from all my burning bridges.
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Prince or commoner, tenor or bass, Painter or plumber or never-do-well, Do me a favor and shut your face - Poets alone should kiss and tell.
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They say of me, and so they should, It's doubtful if I come to good. I see acquaintances and friends Accumulating dividends And making enviable names In science, art and parlor games. But I, despite expert advice, Keep doing things I think are nice, And though to good I never come Inseparable my nose and thumb.
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It is that word 'hunny,' my darlings, that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up.
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I can’t write five words but that I change seven.
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