The Women of the Copper Country Quotes

“here’s what good people do: We don’t give up. We will not be cowed. We will refute their lies. We will get the vote, and we will use it. We will take them to court. We will march in their streets, and we will fight for justice every damned step of the way.”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Women of the Copper Country

“He’s all business again. “What do you remember from the suffragist demonstration—the one in Washington last March? Thousands of women in the streets, demanding the right to vote, but what do you remember?” “There was a woman on a horse . . .” “Exactly. One person caught your eye. That was Inez Milholland. Did you know she’s a labor lawyer?” Annie shakes her head, half-ashamed. “But you do remember a lovely young woman dressed all in white, riding a beautiful white horse! Her photograph was in all the papers. You see? That’s what a good picture can do: it can give people a memory that lasts longer than words. It can sum up something important and offer people a way to think about it. And that’s what I want people to remember about tomorrow: a lovely young woman, dressed all in white, carrying an American flag. We don’t want them to read ‘union’ and ‘strike’ and think ‘roustabouts, roughnecks, thugs’—” “And immigrants.” “Exactly! Union men are an anonymous crowd, don’t you see, but the robber barons? The rich men who are doing the real harm? They’re individuals. We know each name. Rockefeller. Vanderbilt. Gould. Fisk. Society pages have photographs of their wives and their daughters and their fancy houses and parties. Business pages tell the world what each of those fellas think, one at a time . . .” He sits gazing at her for longer than is entirely comfortable, and chuckles when she waves her hand in front of her face as though swatting at a fly. “Mrs. Clements,” he declares, “I am going to make you America’s Joan of Arc!” “Blarney,” she says. “God’s own truth,” he replies. “Calumet needs one name to represent all the decent people who just want decent lives for decent families. You are a beauty, inside and out, and I am going to make America see what I see.”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Women of the Copper Country

“She is often merry and her smile is nice, but there is something in her eyes . . . a fierceness that worries him. She is dazzling the way the Rocky Mountains are dazzling. Glorious to look at from a distance, more dangerous than you expect once you get up close.”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Women of the Copper Country

“I understand these concerns, Major. I must, however, point out that”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Women of the Copper Country

“Within himself, Tom Fisher smiles serenely. It's almost too easy. Promise these morons something they want. Let them believe in it. Then take it away. And tell them who's to blame.”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Women of the Copper Country