Solitude of Self

I have always appreciated this sobering reality of personal responsibility coupled with the freedom this truth brings.

Solitude of Self

By
Elizabeth Cady Stanton


The isolation of every human soul and the necessity of self-dependence must give each individual the right to choose his own surroundings.

The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities for higher education, for the full development of her faculties,
Her forces of mind
And body;
For giving her the most enlarged freedom of thought,
And action;
A complete emancipation from all forms of bondage, of custom, dependence,
Superstition;

From all the crippling influences of fear
Is the solitude and personal responsibility of her own individual life.

The strongest reason why we ask for woman a voice in the government under
Which she lives;
In the religion she is asked to believe;
Equality in social life,
Where she is the chief factor;
A place in the trades and professions,
Where she may earn her bread,

Is because of her birthright to self sovereignty; because, as an individual, she must rely on herself.