"Everyone knew that once a woman was 30, she might as well be dead." - Alexandra Ripley
In this quote by Alexandra Ripley, she conveys the societal expectation and stigma surrounding women reaching the age of 30. The notion that a woman's life essentially ends at 30 reflects the ageist and sexist attitudes that still persist in many societies. This quote serves as a powerful commentary on the pressures and limitations placed on women as they age.
In today's society, the pressure on women to maintain a youthful appearance and energy is still prevalent. The belief that a woman's worth diminishes with age is a harmful and outdated notion that continues to influence how women are perceived in various aspects of life, from the workplace to media representation. It's time to challenge these stereotypes and celebrate the wisdom and experience that come with age.
Consider the quote, "Everyone knew that once a woman was 30, she might as well be dead." How does this statement impact the way society views aging and women specifically? How does ageism affect women's sense of worth and value in today's society? What steps can we take to challenge and combat these harmful stereotypes and expectations surrounding aging and gender?
“But if you knew that, why on earth did you marry her?" Rosemary asked. "Why?" Rhett's mouth twisted in a smile."Because she was so full of fire and so recklessly, stubbornly brave.Because she was such a child beneath all her pretenses.Because she was unlike any woman I had ever known. She fascinatedme,infuriated me, drove me mad. I loved her as consumingly as she loved him. From the day I first laid eyes on her. It was a kind of disease." There was a weight of sorrow in his voice. He bowed his head into his two hands and laughed shakily. His voice was muffled and blurred by his fingers. "What a grotesque practical joke life is. Now Ashley Wilkes is a free man and would marry Scarlett on a moment's notice, and I want to be rid of her. Naturally that makes her determined to have me. She wants only what she cannot have."Rhett raised his head. "I'm afraid," he said quietly, "afraid that it will all begin again. I know that she's heartless and completely selfish, that she's like a child who cries for a toy and then breaks it once she has it. But there are moments when she tilts her head at a certain angle, or she smiles that gleeful smile, or she suddenly looks lost-and I come close to forgetting what I know.”
“But you know who you are when you're on your own out there in all that emptiness. There's no past, no holding on to the scraps that are all you've got left. Everything is that minute, or maybe tomorrow, not yesterday.”
“It's the centuries, Scarlett darling. All the life lived there, all the joy and all the sorrow, all the feasts and battles, they're in the air around and the land beneath you. It's time, years beyond our counting weighing without weight on the earth. You cannot see it or smell it or hear it or touch it, but you feel it brushing your skin and speaking without sound. Time. And mystery.”
“And if things always stayed the same, Scarlett, what would be the reason for bothering to draw breath?”
“One of the injustices of the world was that it was so easy to make the innocent and caring ones happy with so little.”
“And the world is where we belong, all of it.”