Charlotte Perkins Gilman Quotes

A collection of quotes by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American writer, lecturer, and feminist activist, born on July 3, 1860, in Hartford, Connecticut. She is best known for her prolific writings on women's rights, social reform, and the role of women in society. Gilman was a prominent figure in the early 20th-century women's movement and used her powerful voice to advocate for gender equality.

Gilman's most famous work is her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," published in 1892, which explores the themes of mental illness and the oppression of women within patriarchal society. The story is a powerful critique of the rest cure, a popular treatment for women suffering from "nervous conditions" at the time.

In addition to her fiction, Gilman wrote extensively on social issues, publishing numerous essays and books. Her non-fiction works included "Women and Economics" (1898) and "The Home: Its Work and Influence" (1903), both of which challenged traditional gender roles and argued for economic independence for women.

Gilman's writings and lectures had a profound impact on the feminist movement, and she was an influential figure in shaping the ideas of subsequent generations. She advocated for women's education, economic autonomy, and social reform, firmly believing that gender equality was essential for societal progress.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman died by suicide on August 17, 1935. Her legacy as a writer and feminist continues to inspire and resonate with people around the world.

The first duty of a human being is to assume the right funct

The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society - more briefly, to find your real job, and do it.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman


The labor of women in the house, certainly, enables men to p

The labor of women in the house, certainly, enables men to produce more wealth than they otherwise could and in this way women are economic factors in society. But so are horses.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman


To attain happiness in another world we need only to believe

To attain happiness in another world we need only to believe something, while to secure it in this world we must do something.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Happiness

Death? Why this fuss about death? Use your imagination, try

Death? Why this fuss about death? Use your imagination, try to visualize a world without death! Death is the essential condition of life, not an evil.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Imagination

A concept is stronger than a fact.

A concept is stronger than a fact.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Facts

Human life consists in mutual service. No grief, pain, misfo

Human life consists in mutual service. No grief, pain, misfortune, or broken heart, is excuse for cutting off one's life while any power of service remains. But when all usefulness is over, when one is assured of an unavoidable and imminent death, it is the simplest of human rights to choose a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible one.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Suicide

The mother as a social servant instead of a home servant wil

The mother as a social servant instead of a home servant will not lack in true mother duty. From her work, loved and honored though it is, she will return to her home life, the child life, with an eager, ceaseless pleasure, cleansed of all the fret and fraction and weariness that so mar it now.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Mother

The labor of women in the house, certainly, enables men to p

The labor of women in the house, certainly, enables men to produce more wealth than they otherwise could; and in this way women are economic factors in society. But so are horses.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Housework

The female of the genus homo is economically dependent on th

The female of the genus homo is economically dependent on the male. He is her food supply.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Men & Women