"A woman should soften but not weaken a man."
This quote by Sigmund Freud highlights the delicate balance that Freud believed should exist between men and women in a relationship.
Freud's use of the word "soften" implies that women should offer comfort, warmth, and emotional support to men. However, he also adds the caveat that women should not weaken men. This suggests that while women should provide strength and encouragement, they should not undermine a man's confidence or independence.
Overall, Freud's quote speaks to the idea of equality and mutual respect in a relationship, where both partners can support and empower each other.
In today's society, the idea that a woman can soften a man without weakening him is still relevant. It speaks to the concept of relationships being about balance and support, rather than dominance or submission. This quote challenges traditional gender norms by suggesting that strength and softness can coexist in both men and women. It is a reminder that emotional intelligence and vulnerability are not signs of weakness, but rather qualities that can enhance a person's character and relationships.
In considering the quote by Sigmund Freud, "A woman should soften but not weaken a man," reflect on the following questions:
“The intention that man should be happy is not in the plan of Creation.”
“A man should not strive to eliminate his complexes but to get into accord with them: they are legitimately what directs his conduct in the world.”
“The woman who refuses to see her sexual organs as mere wood chips, designed to make the man's life more comfortable, is in danger of becoming a lesbian--an active, phallic woman, an intellectual virago with a fire of her own .... The lesbian body is a particularly pernicious and depraved version of the female body in general; it is susceptible to auto-eroticism, clitoral pleasure and self-actualization.”
“In my Future of an Illusion I was concerned [...] with what the ordinary man understands by his religion, that system of doctrines and pledges that on the one hand explains the riddle of this world to him with an enviable completeness, and on the other assures him that a solicitous Providence is watching over him and will make up to him in a future existence for any shortcomings in this life. The ordinary man cannot imagine this Providence in any other from but that of a greatly exalted father, for only such a one could understand the needs of the sons of men, or be softened by their prayers and placated by the signs of their remorse. The whole thing is so patently infantile, so incongruous with reality, that to one whose attitude to humanity is friendly it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life.”
“The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life.”
“Man has, as it were, become a kind of prosthetic God.”