Our offices must always be headed by the kind of men who command respect. Not phonies, zeros or bastards.
David OgilvyRead
Once more, I am watching the most powerful men in the kingdom bring their power to bear on a woman who has done nothing worse than live to the beat of her own heart, see with her own eyes; but this is not their tempo nor their vision and they cannot tolerate any other.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the struggle of individuals who dare to live authentically in the face of societal power and expectations.
Philippa Gregory's quote illustrates the conflict between individual authenticity and societal power structures. It emphasizes how those in positions of authority often react negatively to those who deviate from established norms, especially women who assert their independence and follow their own paths. The powerful men in the kingdom represent a society that values conformity and is threatened by the authentic expression of another's identity and vision.
Themes
PowerAuthenticityIndividualityResistanceSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for women's rights, one might use this quote to highlight the challenges women face.
Similar quotes
And when a leader embraces their responsibility to care for people instead of caring for numbers, then people will follow, solve problems and see to it that that leader’s vision comes to life the right way, a stable way and not the expedient way.
Simon SinekRead
It's easier to run for office than to run the office.
Thomas P. O'NeillRead
My name is Mankiller, and in the old Cherokee Nation, when we lived here in the Southeast, we lived in semi-autonomous villages, and there was someone who watched over the village, who had the title of mankiller. And I'm not sure what you could equate that to, but it was sort of like a soldier or someone who was responsible for the security of the village, and so anyway this one fellow liked the title mankiller so well that he kept it as his name, and that's who we trace our ancestry back to.
Wilma MankillerRead
In should be the duty of every soldier to reflect on the experiences of the past, in the endeavor to discover improvements, in his particular sphere of action, which are practicable in the immediate future.
B. H. Liddell HartRead
There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized peace.
Woodrow WilsonRead