In the words of one scholar, “the slave woman was first a full-time worker for her owner, and only incidentally a wife, mother and homemaker.”10 Judged by the evolving nineteenth-century ideology of femininity, which emphasized women’s
...more
“At that moment I knew what the plebs were, much more clearly than when, years earlier, she had asked me. The plebs were us. The plebs were that fight for food and wine, that quarrel over who should be served first and better, that dirty floor on which the waiters clattered back and forth, those increasingly vulgar toasts. The plebs were my mother, who had drunk wine and now was leaning against my father’s shoulder, while he, serious, laughed, his mouth gaping, at the sexual allusions of the metal dealer. They were all laughing, even Lila, with the expression of one who has a role and will play it to the utmost.”
― My Brilliant Friend
― My Brilliant Friend
“Was it possible? She had taken me with her hoping that as a punishment my parents would not send me to middle school? Or had she brought me back in such a hurry so that I would avoid punishment? Or - I wonder today - did she want at different moments both things?”
― My Brilliant Friend
― My Brilliant Friend
“No other group in America has used black people as metaphors as extensively as white women involved in the women’s movement.”
― Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism
― Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism
“We’re only pretending everything is normal because we don’t know what else to do.”
― The Power
― The Power
“At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.”
―
―
Jasmine’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Jasmine’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Jasmine
Lists liked by Jasmine


































