Quotes About Autonomy

If I am truly to become an autonomous woman, then I must take over that role of being my own guardian...I not only have to become my own husband, but I need to be my own father, too.

But never delude yourself into believing that you require someone else's blessing (or even their comprehension) in order to make your own creative work.

I think it's a mighty act of human love to remind somebody that they can accomplish things by themselves, and that the world does not automatically owe them any reward, and that they are not as weak and hobbled as they may believe.

Never explain yourself, Alma. It makes you appear weak.

She was of the mind that people should make their own decisions about their own lives, if you can image such a preposterous thing.

I can only be in charge of producing the work itself. That's a hard enough job. I refuse to take on additional jobs, such as trying to police what anybody thinks about my work once it leaves my desk.

Most of all, there is this truth: No matter how great your teachers may be, and no matter how esteemed your academy's reputation, eventually you will have to do the work by yourself. Eventually, the teachers won't be there anymore. The walls of the school will fall away, and you'll be on your own. The hours that you will then put into practice, study, auditions, and creation will be entirely up to you.

The sooner and more passionately you get married to this idea- that it is ultimately entirely up to you- the better off you'll be.

You don't have to live like this because people tell you it's the only way. You're not handcuffed to your culture!

NO ONE KNOWS COCO, MY DEAR. SHE WOULD NEVER ALLOW FOR THAT.

It was during the war, too, that I learned how to be comfortable sitting alone in a bar or restaurant. For many women, this is a strangely difficult thing to do, but eventually I mastered it. (The trick is to bring a book or newspaper, to ask for the best table nearest to the window, and to order your drink just as soon as you sit down.) Once I got the hang of it, I found that eating alone by the window in a quiert restaurant is one of life's greatest secret pleasures.

i don't want to be marry anymore

Only through constant focus can you become independent. Only through independence can you know yourself. And only through knowing yourself will you be able to ask the key question of your life: What is is that I am destined to accomplish, and how can I make it happen?

But never delude yourself into believing that you require someone else's blessing (or even their comprehension) in order to make your own creative work. And always remember that people's judgments about you are none of your business.

You can let yourself off the hook anytime you want, Liz. That's the divine contract of a little something we call free will.

Inspiration is allowed to do whatever it wants to, in fact, and it is never obliged to justify its motives to any of us.

The sooner and more passionately you get married to this idea—that it is ultimately entirely up to you—the better off you'll be.

it's a mighty act of human love to remind somebody that they can accomplish things by themselves

But never delude yourself into believing that you require someone else's blessing (or even their comprehension) in order to make your own creative work. And always remember that people's judgments about you are none of your business. Lastly, remember what W. C. Fields had to say on this point: "It ain't what they call you; it's what you answer to." Actually, don't even bother answering. Just keep doing your thing.

you are allowed to have a voice and a vision of your own.

The one good thing about being Protestant is that we are not expected to cringe forever in contrition.

Anyhow, the golden rule in my family is this: If you're supporting yourself financially and you're not bothering anyone else, then you're free to do whatever you want with your life.

Well, if you can't make a plan for your own life, Vivian, then somebody needs to be your mother!

She smiled sweetly at everyone and always acted like a total cooperator—but then she shaped her own world exactly to her liking while nobody was looking.