10 Great Quotes from Women Writers

by

As tomorrow (8th March) is International Women’s Day, we’ve gathered together ten of our favourite quotes from women writers. Some of the quotes are wise, some are witty, some weird; all are wonderful, in our opinion. And what unites them all is that they were uttered (or written) by some of the major female figures in literature. We’d be interested to hear your favourite quotes from women writers, in the comments below – which names/quotes have we missed off?

Austen

‘Going to the opera, like getting drunk, is a sin that carries its own punishment with it.’ – Hannah More

‘If only we’d stop trying to be happy we’d have a pretty good time.’ – Edith Wharton

‘There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.’ – Sylvia Plath

‘One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.’ – Jane Austen

‘Parents should leave books lying around marked “forbidden” if they want their children to read.’ – Doris Lessing

‘Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.’ – Virginia Woolf

‘I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.’ – Edith Sitwell

‘Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.’ – Dorothy Parker

‘Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.’ – Simone de Beauvoir

‘Life shrinks or expands according to one’s courage.’ – Anaïs Nin

Image: Jane Austen, coloured version of original, 1873, public domain.

69 thoughts on “10 Great Quotes from Women Writers”

  1. My favorite from the list: ‘I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.’ – Edith Sitwell
    It’s good to know I’m in great company!

  7. Your articles are great. I just wanted to say I am a fan and will continue to visit.

    I would love for you to keep up on my material as well. I tend to be controversial

  10. Aloneness and selfness are too important to betray for company. (Sylvia Plath)

    • Bonjour. Merci pour la citation de Margaret Mitchell, dont la mère et la grand-mère étaient également incomparables, féministes, et courageuses. Le testament de la mère de Margaret Mitchell est émouvant, brave, comme celui de Berthe Morisot s’adressant à sa fille Julie.
      Bien à vous from France

      • Je vous en prie. Je ne connais que Margaret Mitchell était l’auteur de Gone With The Wind, mais cette citation m’a beaucoup plaît. Également je ne connais pas que sa mère et sa grand-mère étaient féminstes – on va chercher une biographie immédiatement!
        Bien à vous du Pays de Galles…

        • Bonjour Calmgrove, vos citations sont vraiment éclairantes, merci. Ces femmes sont toutes tellement intéressantes. J’ai découvert Edith Warton seulement l’ an dernier et ensuite souhaité tout lire !
          La biographie de Margaret Mitchell est d’ Anne Edwards. Elle était une personne si modeste pour un si grand livre. Published in France after 2d World War, one could recognize in her brave attitude. Hello to Pays de Galles ! What about recent novel by Margaret Drabble ? Justement translated into french.

  17. I’m a fan of this one:
    “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.”
    Joyce Carol Oates

  19. A great list. I like marking books forbidden to get your kids to read – that will work every time. Over all, though, it’s hard to choose a favourite. :)

  22. Great stuff here. I’m also finding I love more and more Woolf’s concept of “a room of one’s own.” Thanks for sharing these for International Women’s Day!

  27. Austen, from Northanger Abbey, is one of my favourites: “the quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all – it is very tiresome.”.

  29. Pingback: 10 Great Quotations from Women Writers | alarmingman

  31. Merci pour ce beau florilège.
    Voici un “Eparpillement” de Natalie Clifford Barney :
    ” Fragile, je n’ai de force que pour les choses ardentes “.
    Amicalement

  33. Pingback: Versatile Blogger Award: International Women’s Day Edition | Part Time Monster

  44. Great quotes here…can’t say off the cuff, but Cate Blanchett and Lupita N’yongo added some quotable quotes in Oscar speeches….following this blog now…

  46. Pingback: Inspirational quote (and a how-to) | Confessions of a Popcorn Addict
  49. Pingback: Great Things Said by Great Women | A Blog of One's Own
  54. Pingback: 10 Great Quotations from Women Writers | rosany1971
  55. Pingback: Idling After a Week on the Roller Coaster | 1WriteWay

Comments are closed.

<script id=”mcjs”>!function(c,h,i,m,p){m=c.createElement(h),p=c.getElementsByTagName(h)[0],m.async=1,m.src=i,p.parentNode.insertBefore(m,p)}(document,”script”,”https://chimpstatic.com/mcjs-connected/js/users/af4361760bc02ab0eff6e60b8/c34d55e4130dd898cc3b7c759.js”);</script>

Discover more from Interesting Literature

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading