Any system was a straightjacket if you insisted on adhering to it so totally and humorlessly. Erica Jong More Quotes by Erica Jong More Quotes From Erica Jong Blocks usually stem from fear of being judged. If you imagine the world is listening, you'll never write a line. Erica Jong blockwritinginspire Women really must have equal pay for equal work, equality in work at home, and reproductive choices. Men must press for these things also. They must cease to see them as "women's issues" and learn that they are everyone's issues - essential to survival on planet Earth. Erica Jong learninghomemen There is a rhythm to the ending of a marriage just like the rhythm of a courtship, only backward. Erica Jong courtshiprhythmmarriage Everyone's a little crazy when you get inside their head... it's only a matter of degree. Erica Jong degreescrazylittles At fifty the madwoman in the attic breaks loose, stomps down the stairs, and sets fire to the house. She won't be imprisoned anymore. Erica Jong firebirthdayinspirational No one to blame! That was why most people led lives they hated, with people they hated. How wonderful to have someone to blame! How wonderful to live with one's nemesis! You may be miserable, but you feel forever in the right. You may be fragmented, but you feel absolved of all the blame for it. Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame. Erica Jong hatehandspeople There is simply no dignified way for a woman to live alone. Oh, she can get along financially perhaps (though not nearly as well as a man), but emotionally she is never left in peace. Her friends, her family, her fellow workers never let her forget that her husbandlessness, her childlessness - her selfishness, in short - is a reproach to the American way of life. Erica Jong selfishnessmenpeace Women's books are kind of discriminated against. If a man writes a book about his family stories, people think of it as literature. If it's a woman, she's 'spilling her guts,' and it's not art. Erica Jong writingbookart Women tend to be preservers of the social structure, of marriage. They don't want to upset their husbands or their significant others. They don't want to hurt people. Erica Jong husbandhurtpeople Women are not the richer sex. Women are not equal in society. Erica Jong equalsex I have a very sensitive nose. I identify with dogs. I understand the world through my nose. Erica Jong dognosesworld Feminism is teaching. I've gotten a lot of pleasure pushing younger writers that I've met and worked with. Erica Jong feminismpushingteaching Famous people complain about fame, but they never want to give it back, myself included. Erica Jong complaininggivingpeople All my forebears worked for a living. My grandfather painted portraits. My mother too. My aunt painted seascapes. Erica Jong auntgrandfathermother At certain historic moments, grandparents took on childrearing responsibilities. In many cultures, they still do. Chinese grandparents who are able to retire at 55 are seen all over Beijing bouncing grandbabies. In the United States, we can't afford to retire at 55. Erica Jong grandparentchineseresponsibility Where is Hollywood located? Chiefly between the ears. In that part of the American brain lately vacated by God. Erica Jong californiagodfunny Perhaps all artists were, in a sense, housewives: tenders of the earth household. Erica Jong housewifeartistearth Men have always detested women's gossip because they suspect the truth: their measurements are being taken and compared. Erica Jong gossipwomentaken It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone. Erica Jong mirrorscitiesair I never became a writer for the money. I am a poet first. Even getting published is a miracle for poets. Erica Jong poetmiraclefirsts
