The main cause is a pernicious falsehood propagated against her being, namely that she is inferior by her nature. Inferior in what? What has man ever done that woman, under the same advantages could not do?
Ernestine RoseRead
Again, I shall be told that the law presumes the husband to be kind, affectionate, and ready to provide for and protect his wife. But what right, I ask, has the law to presume at all on the subject?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the legal assumptions about marital roles and the husband's character.
Ernestine Rose challenges the societal norms and legal frameworks that assume a husband is inherently kind, affectionate, and protective. By asking why the law makes these assumptions, she highlights the need for a critical examination of the laws governing marriage and the roles assigned to individuals within it, advocating for a more nuanced understanding of personal relationships and responsibilities.
Themes
MarriageLawRelationshipsAssumptionsEquality
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on marital laws at a legal conference.
More from Ernestine Rose
All quotes →For here lies the corner stone of all the injustices done woman, the wrong idea from which all other wrongs proceed. She is not acknowledged as mistress of herself. For her cradle to her grave she is another's. We do indeed need and demand the other rights of which I have spoken, but let us first obtain OURSELVES.
Ernestine RoseRead
Books and opinions, no matter from whom they came, if they are in opposition to human rights, are nothing but dead letters.
Ernestine RoseRead
It is high time to compel man by the might of right to give woman her political, legal and social rights. She will find her own sphere in accordance with her capacities, powers and tastes; and yet she will be woman still.
Ernestine RoseRead
All that I can tell you is, that I used my humble powers to the uttermost, and raised my voice in behalf of Human Rights in general, and the elevation and Rights of Woman in particular, nearly all my life.
Ernestine RoseRead
Slavery and freedom cannot exist together.
Ernestine RoseRead
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I felt that if a man's proposals met with approval, it should encourage him; if they met with opposition, it should make him fight back; but the real tragedy for him was to lift up his voice among the living and meet with no response neither approval nor opposition just as if he were left helpless in a boundless desert.
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