The home is the centre and circumference, the start and the finish, of most of our lives.
It is the same woman, I know, for she is always creeping, and most women do not creep by daylight.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests a deeper understanding of a woman's struggle and societal behavior, particularly in relation to how women express themselves in public versus private.
In this quote, Charlotte Perkins Gilman reflects on the complexities of women's behavior and societal expectations. The phrase 'creeping' implies a sense of secrecy or constraint, suggesting that women often have to hide their true selves or desires in public. This stark contrast between daylight and creeping illustrates the societal pressures that discourage women from expressing their individuality openly, highlighting a critical perspective on gender roles and the inherent struggles women face.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion on gender equality at a women's rights event.
More from Charlotte Perkins Gilman
All quotes βTo swallow and follow, whether old doctrine or new propaganda, is a weakness still dominating the human mind.
Woman" in the abstract is young, and, we assume, charming. As they get older they pass off the stage, somehow, into private ownership mostly, or out of it altogether.
We all need one another; much and often. Just as every human creature needs a place to be alone in, a sacred, private "home" of his own, so all human creatures need a place to be together in, from the two who can show each other their souls uninterruptedly, to the largest throng that can throb and stir in unison.
Death is the essential condition of life, not an evil.
When the mother of the race is free, we shall have a better world, by the easy right of birth and by the calm, slow, friendly forces of evolution.
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If danger arises in the present moment, there may be an emotion. There may even be pain. But that's a challenge, not a problem. For a problem to exist, you need time and repetitive mind activity.
No written law has ever been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion.
Last I checked, Bill Gates was worth $50 billion. If the average employed adult, who is walking in a hurry, will pick up a quarter from the sidewalk, but not a dime, then the corresponding amount of money given their relative wealth that Bill Gates would ignore if he saw it lying on the street is $25,000.
If I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman... because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.
Fame is but the breath of people, and that often unwholesome.
But what is quackery? It is commonly an attempt to cure the diseases of a man by addressing his body alone. There is need of a physician who shall minister to both soul and body at once, that is, to man. Now he falls between two stools.