There's life for you. Spend the best years of your life studying penmanship and rhetoric and syntax and Beowulf and George Eliot, and then somebody steals your pencil.
Dorothy ParkerRead
That woman speaks eighteen languages, and can't say 'No' in any of them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously highlights a woman's inability to refuse requests, regardless of her linguistic skills.
Dorothy Parker's quote points out the irony of someone being highly educated and skilled in many languages, yet lacking the ability to assertively decline requests. It reflects on the societal pressures and expectations often placed on women to be accommodating and helpful, poking fun at the contrast between her impressive talents and her vulnerability in social situations.
Themes
WomanLanguagesNoAssertivenessHumor
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about assertiveness training at a women's empowerment workshop.
More from Dorothy Parker
All quotes βMy land is bare of chattering folk; / the clouds are low along the ridges, / and sweet's the air with curly smoke / from all my burning bridges.
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Prince or commoner, tenor or bass, Painter or plumber or never-do-well, Do me a favor and shut your face - Poets alone should kiss and tell.
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They say of me, and so they should, It's doubtful if I come to good. I see acquaintances and friends Accumulating dividends And making enviable names In science, art and parlor games. But I, despite expert advice, Keep doing things I think are nice, And though to good I never come Inseparable my nose and thumb.
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It is that word 'hunny,' my darlings, that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up.
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I canβt write five words but that I change seven.
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