To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed.
To make an omelette, you need not only those broken eggs but someone 'oppressed' to beat them: every revolutionist is presumed to understand that, and also every woman, which either does or does not make 51 percent of the population of the United States a potentially revolutionary class.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that significant change often comes at the expense of suffering and that those in oppressed positions can become powerful agents of change.
Joan Didion's quote reflects on the complexity of revolution and change, emphasizing that progress often requires sacrifice and that those who are marginalized or oppressed have the potential to instigate significant transformation in society. The mention of 'broken eggs' symbolizes the costs associated with revolutionary acts, while the reference to women highlights the importance of recognizing their role and potential as a collective force for societal change, despite their varied experiences and backgrounds.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on social justice, one might quote Didion to emphasize the necessity of recognizing the voices of oppressed groups in the fight for equality.
More from Joan Didion
All quotes →The truth is, it's easier for me to write than talk... to express the state I'm in at any time.
Memories are what you no longer want to remember.
It was clear, for example, in 1988 that the political process had already become perilously remote from the electorate it was meant to represent.
I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
Similar quotes
Where there is no conflict, there is no fault.
The role of the intellectual cannot be to excuse the violence of one side and condemn that of the other.
I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself. I will be rich by myself, and not by borrowing.
If we will be true and faithful to our principles, committed to a life of honesty and integrity, then no king or contest or fiery furnace will be able to compromise us. For the success of the kingdom of God on earth, may we stand as witnesses for Him "at all times and in all things, and in all places that we may be in, even until death."
We can no more justify using nonhumans as human resources than we can justify human slavery. Animal use and slavery have at least one important point in common: both institutions treat sentient beings exclusively as resources of others. That cannot be justified with respect to humans; it cannot be justified with respect to nonhumans—however “humanely” we treat them.
But guilt is guilt. It doesn't go away. It can't be nullified. It can't even be fully understood, I'm certain - it's roots run too deep into private and long-standing karma. About the only thing that saves my neck when I get to feeling this way is that guilt is an imperfect form of knowledge. Just because it isn't perfect doesn't mean that it can't be used. The hard thing to do is to put it to practical use, before it gets around to paralyzing you.