A man's women folk, whatever their outward show of respect for his merit and authority, always regard him secretly as an ass, and with something akin to pity.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that no matter how much respect a man receives from the women in his life, they often secretly hold a lower opinion of him.
H. L. Mencken's quote reflects a cynical view of gender dynamics, proposing that women may outwardly show respect for a man's achievements and position but harbor a deeper, unspoken judgment of him. This perspective implies that a man's ego may be bolstered by societal respect, yet the women closest to him see flaws or incompetencies that others might overlook, leading to a complex and sometimes pitying relationship. It invites reflection on how perceptions can differ between genders and the underlying truths often masked by polite appearances.
In practice
In a discussion about gender roles during a workplace seminar.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
That is life for a Saudi woman: wherever we go, whatever we achieve, we are the property of a man.
I've never had very high regard for therapists. I owe my health, my mental survival, to my friends and loved ones.
It was sad, the imbalance of it all. Why do kids assume so much from one parent and hold the other to a lower, looser standard?
A relationship is more of an assignment than a choice. We can walk away from the assignment, but we cannot walk away from the lessons it presents. We stay with a relationship until a lesson is learned, or we simply learn it another way.
If you pay attention, everyone is a novel. The most boring person, if you sit down and really listen, is someone interesting.
I was born Roman, and I'll die Roman. I'll never leave this team or my city.
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