It is not a national question concerning India any longer; it is purely international.
AGNES SMEDLEYThousands of women are crushed and made inarticulate by that system and never develop as their natures would force them to develop were they in a decent environment.
More Agnes Smedley Quotes
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I was ashamed of them and their ways of life. But now – yes, I love them; they are a part of my blood; they, with all their virtues and their faults, played a great part in forming my way of looking at life.
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I joined another circle and the leader gave us a little leaflet in very small print, asking us to read it carefully and then come prepared to ask questions.
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When I was a girl, the West was still young, and the law of force, of physical force, was dominant.
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She said little, especially when my father or the men who worked for him were about I remember her instinctive and unhesitating sympathy for the miners.
AGNES SMEDLEY -
Thousands of women are crushed and made inarticulate by that system and never develop as their natures would force them to develop were they in a decent environment.
AGNES SMEDLEY -
Like all my family and class, I considered it a sign of weakness to show affection; to have been caught kissing my mother would have been a disgrace, and to have shown affection for my father would have been a disaster.
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But I see no reason why a woman should not grow and develop in all those outlets which are suited to her nature, it matters not at all what they may be.
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To die would have been beautiful. But I belong to those who do not die for the sake of beauty.
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I have loved and bitterness left me for that hour. But there are times when love itself is bitter.
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And the woman who could win the respect of man was often the woman who could knock him down with her bare fists and sit on him until he yelled for help.
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Now, being a girl, I was ashamed of my body and my lack of strength. So I tried to be a man.
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Yet it is awful to love a person who is a torture to you. And a fascinating person who loves you and won’t hear of anything but your loving him and living right by his side through all eternity!
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I was learning that books and diagrams can be evil things if they deaden the mind of man and make him blind or cynical before subjection of any kind.
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But settled things were enemies to me and soon lost their newness and color. The unknown called.
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Always before I had felt like a person, an individual, hopeful that I could mold my life according to some desire of my own.
AGNES SMEDLEY