"Because married women are so unhappy. Adelaide and Annie were has merry as crickets when they were single, and now how serious and unhappy they appear."
"Seriousness is not unhappiness. Age makes one sedate."
"Nay, but I am sure they are miserable, and I tell you I will not marry; so do not promise my hand to any one". And she put a very lovely one into her father's hand as she spoke.
"I will not, my dear Hetty; but you may live to alter your mind."
"I shall not, and I will tell you why. I have considered this matter very closely and I have discovered that a married woman is but a slave to a man. She must have no will of her own, no purse of her own, and though she has all the trouble and anxiety with the children, they are his—not hers—as soon as they begin to reason. I love freedom, papa; I will be no mere tool to any man. No art, no science, no refinement, no practical improvement can flourish in slavery; and the reason women have shown less aptitude for intellectual cultivation than men is, that they are mere slaves—domestic drudges, for the most part—with no higher interest than to procure food and clothing."
"Where did my Hester pick up Mary Wolstonecroft's writings?"
"Mary Wolstonecroft—who is she, papa?"
"A lady who advocates woman's rights, my love. I thought you had been reading her book."
"There is no need if all she says is that which I feel, namely, that all women are slaves. I learned this from simple observation. I wonder all women do not feel it so."
"Women are supposed to live in their affections; and those whom we love we serve willingly."