Mark Twain Quotes
… since the women started out on their crusade they have scored in every project they undertook against unjust laws. I would like to see them help make the laws and those who are to enforce them. I would like to see the whiplash in women's hands.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
Mark Twain, Writer, Founder, Anti-Imperialist League, Quoted in New York Times, January 21, 1901
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910. This is an excellent example of political sarcasm. Read literally, this quotation indicates that he was opposed to women’s suffrage, and was a fairly extreme sexist. What he was doing however, is stating publicly the argument that many men made at the time—especially those who were not highly literate or well-educated. By stating the argument of the opposition, he allows fair minded people to be exposed to views that they might otherwise not be exposed to. Many sexist men at the time read the quotation and, not appreciating Twain’s sarcasm, concluded that Twain, unlike most of the “egghead intellectuals” of the day was an opponent of the increasingly militant feminists. In actuality, Mark Twain was a strong feminist. See {630191}, {630192}, & {630193}.
She was also Australia’s First Woman Cabinet Minister.
The importance of women in the Hamas, fundamentalist vision is to function as a brood mare to “manufacture” men and then to bring them up which at least requires something more than their bodies. The role of women in producing other women however is never mentioned as important.
Many people, mostly men, tended to regard and label the militant suffragettes as extremists and allowed as how women who advocated their voting rights but in an acceptable way might be wrong but they were at least ladies. The same kind of attempted split occurred in the latter half of the 20th century over the Woman’s movement. The Feminists were not “ladies” and were not to be emulated by normal women even if they had sympathy for he views. Groups without power have always been acceptable to society as long as their cries for a share of power were ineffectual and did not disrupt the existing order. But when they begin to use more successful means and are heard and attended to, then they are labeled as extremists not to be emulated by “decent” people.
- Born: November 30, 1835
- Died: April 21, 1910
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Author
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), the latter often called "The Great American Novel".
