Charlotte Perkins Gilman
American feminist whose 'Women and Economics' analyzed gender roles and economic dependence in society.
Most quoted
"It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide—plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions."
— from The Yellow Wallpaper, 1892
"We are the only animal species in which the female depends on the male for food, and in which the male acquires property and gives it to the female in exchange for her sex and reproductive capacity."
— from Women and Economics, 1898
"John is a physician, and perhaps—(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)—perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster."
— from The Yellow Wallpaper, 1892
All quotes by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (100)
There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. As well speak of a female liver.
We are the only animal species in which the female depends on the male for food, and in which the male acquires property and gives it to the female in exchange for her sex and reproductive capacity.
The home is the woman's prison, and the kitchen is her workroom.
To be a woman and yet to be a human being, with a full share of human rights, is a problem that has not yet been solved.
The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.
The first duty of a human being is to assume the right relationship to the universe.
I am not an advocate for the abolition of marriage, but for the abolition of the present form of marriage.
The trouble with women today is that they are trying to be men.
The world needs women who are not afraid to think, to speak, and to act.
The home, as it is now constituted, is a hotbed of disease, both physical and moral.
The highest form of love is not to be found in the home, but in the world.
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
I never saw so much expression in an inanimate object before, and we all know how much expression they have!
It is the same woman, I tell you, but she is not the same.
I think that woman gets out at night, and I can see her out of every one of my windows!
I've got out at last, and I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!
The world is not a place to live in, but a place to live for.
The most important thing in life is to be true to yourself.
The greatest good for the greatest number is the only true morality.
The only way to make a man good is to make him happy.
Contemporaries of Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Other Sociologys born within 50 years of Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935).