Women and Femininity Quotes in Angle of Repose

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

There was an ambitious woman under the Quaker modesty [...] The light foot was for more than dancing [...] the womanliness for more than mute submission to husband and hearth. (5.1.24)

See what we mean? If Lyman were to say the exact same thing about Shelly, he'd be using it as evidence of why she's an awful human being with the dumbest beliefs in the world (we're paraphrasing, of course). So, what makes Susan so different? Once again, we'd point to Lyman's tumultuous marriage as the reason behind his often twisted opinions about women.

Quote #8

My grandfather, operating on his belief that ladies were to be protected, conspired [...] to fill all the seats [...] with the more desirable passengers. (5.1.30)

Though he's married to a die-hard feminist, Oliver isn't above engaging in some good, old-fashioned sexism. While this move might be a little more justified back in the days of the Wild West, we doubt that anything that insane would have happened if Susan had been allowed to live as freely as a man.

Quote #9

"It irritates my republican and suffragist sentiments to see such feminine perfection tied like a servant to that Prussian self-satisfaction." (5.4.18)

Mexico is a whole different game when it comes to gender politics. While Susan has to deal with plenty of sexism while in America, the rigid gender roles of Mexican society are something completely unfamiliar (and frightening) to her. Even though she loves the culture, she hates how it treats women.