Sarah Grand Quote

Description: 

"Our opinion of people depends less upon what we see in them, than upon what they make us see in ourselves."-Sarah Grand

Character's writing:

Oh, how I love Sarah Grand! She has such a way with words and I could not agree with this quote more. What I have gathered from this is that it's not about how you see a person but what that person makes you see in yourself. In other words, it is important to allow people into your life rather than ridicule and shame them for something that they can not control. The male population has done just that and we women do not see that as fair. We have so much to offer yet the men will not let us show them that we are very valuable to the community. Rather than be roped into these gender roles that have been created by men, they should allow us to branch out and let us prove how much we will contribute to society. There is so much more to us women than being wives and mothers, and I think that it is silly that we are confined to such a bleak fate. Us women should be proud of our womanhood and fight the traditions that have kept us under the men’s wing for so long. If the men were willing to read and accept this quote, then they may be able to understand that we can not only contribute, but make them see the best in themselves. As long as there are women like Sarah Grand who are willing to say such daring things, it gives me much hope for the future and the progression towards equality.

Editors analysis:

Sarah Grand's work was a doctrine of sorts for the New Woman movement because it was in a pair of articles that she wrote that coined the term "New Woman". The woman made it quite obvious that she is very upset and passionate about the progression of women's rights. This quote by Sarah Grand obviously struck the hearts of many women of the time because they knew that they had much more to offer than the roles that had been assigned to them at birth. Being born as a woman is something that is way beyond their control and they knew that yet embraced it wholeheartedly. They were and still are a proud species that had infinite potential yet they were being constantly held well below their capabilities. At the time, men knew this but it was the primal wanting of power and control that led them to keep the abilities of women in the dark. These words served as an inspiration to women because they knew that it was nothing short of the truth. It was the men who decided to cast this aside because they believed that they were superior and that this was the way it was meant to be. It also took a very long time for men to realize that women could allow them to see the best in themselves If this realization was made earlier, they would have realized that women are much more capable than being subjected to the life of a daughter, wife, and mother. If these women can see how far their efforts have taken them in the struggle for equality, they would see that everything that they had sacrificed had paid off tremendously.

Citation: “Sarah Grand Quotes.” Lib Quotes, libquotes.com/sarah-grand.

Associated Place(s)

Image Date: 

19th century