A Season of Swans Quotes

“Responsibility,” Lexy said softly. “If women are to have the rights and privileges of full citizenship, then they must also bear the responsibilities. Anthea sees countless women who are so addicted to patent medicines full of alcohol and opium, they haven’t had a sober day in years. I understand that poor health or sometimes lives that are just too constricted drive more than a few to it, but I think many are simply willing to pay any price rather than take responsibility for their own lives. It is seductive, the idea of being cared for as if one is a child or an exotic plant. I think part of what Southern women are trying to preserve is the right to that kind of coddling. But in doing that, they also send the South backward, impeding progress at every turn. One certainly sees no agitation for women’s rights in the South, or indeed, for rights for anyone who is not white and male.”
― Celeste De Blasis, A Wild Legacy