A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it is there her avarice seeks for hidden treasures. She sends forth her sympathies on adventure; she embarks her whole soul on the traffic of affection; and if shipwrecked, her case is hopeless - for it is a bankruptcy of the heart.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Women traditionally centered their lives on emotional bonds, risking total ruin if those bonds broke.
- In plain terms
- Women often built their world on love and lost everything when it failed.
- What can you take from it?
- Emotional dependency can lead to devastating loss.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where do you find your identity?
- What would a heartbreak cost you?
Another view
Modern women often have broader sources of identity.
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