Tongue -, well that's a wery good thing when it ain't a woman's.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Dickens remarks that having a witty tongue is good, unless it belongs to a woman, reflecting a gendered stereotype of the time.
- In plain terms
- Being sharp-tongued is praised unless the person is a woman.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize historical biases in humor about gender.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does humor reflect societal biases?
- Why is wit judged differently by gender?
Another view
This view reinforces outdated and unfair gender norms.
More from Charles Dickens
Did it ever strike you on such a morning as this that drowning would be happiness and peace?
Permalink to quote #18 'It's a wery remarkable circumstance, sir', said Sam, 'that poverty and oysters seems to go together.'
Permalink to quote #20 Great men are seldom over-scrupulous in the arrangement of their attire.
Permalink to quote #17
Related quotes
Die liebenswurdigste der Frauen wird immer auch die schonste sein.
August von KotzebueAugust von Kotzebue quote #2 'Because I'm a blonde, I don't have to think I talk like a baby and I never pay for drinks I never have to worry about gettin' a man If I keep this blonde, and…
Julie BrownJulie Brown quote #5 The most casual examination will reveal the fact that all the jokes about the horrible results of masculine cooking and sewing are written by men. It is all pa…
Heywood BrounHeywood Broun quote #10