Sarah Grimke Quotes on Knowledge
Sarah Moore Grimke was an American abolitionist, philosopher, and one of the founding figures of nineteenth-century American feminist thought, the elder sister of Angelina Grimke and a Quaker convert from a slaveholding South Carolina family. This page collects quotes attributed to Sarah Grimke on the topic of knowledge, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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Attributed to Sarah Grimke:
“The denial of education to women is the secret of all the other denials they have suffered.”
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“As quoted in The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina , by Gerda Lerner , ch.5 (1969).”
Oh, had I received the education I desired, had I been bred to the profession of the law, I might have been a useful member of society, and instead of myself and my property being taken care of, I might have been a protector of the helpless, a pleader for the poor and unfortunate. -
“Letter 1 (July 11, 1837).”
Had Adam tenderly reproved his wife, and endeavored to lead her to repentance instead of sharing in her guilt, I should be much more ready to accord to man that superiority which he claims; but as the facts stand disclosed by the sacred historian, it appears to me that to say the least, there was as much weakness exhibited by Adam as by Eve. They both fell from innocence, and consequently from hap -
“Letter 2 (July 17, 1837).”
All history attests that man has subjected woman to his will, used her as a means to promote his selfish gratification, to minister to his sensual pleasures, to be instrumental in promoting his comfort; but never has he desired to elevate her to that rank she was created to fill. He has done all he could to debase and enslave her mind; and now he looks triumphantly on the ruin he has wrought, and -
“Letter 2 (July 17, 1837).”
I ask no favors for my sex. I surrender not our claim to equality. All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks, and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God designed us to occupy.