(By John Plowright)
I guess that ever since people have been thought worthy of quotation they’ve been misquoted (“Blessed are the cheesemakers”) or quotations have been misattributed but social media can often seem awash with both.
There’s a good chance you’ve seen the following ascribed to William Golding:
“I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men. They are far superior and always have been. Whatever you give a woman, she will make them greater. If you give her a sperm, she will give you a baby. If you give her a house, she will give you a home. If you give her groceries, she will give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she will give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit!”
A YouTube clip confirms that Golding said the first two sentences. A man of his generation might well put women on a pedestal yet still assume that she was not the provider of groceries but the maker of meals. The real clue, though, that some sexist sentimental twaddle has been tacked on to something Golding said is the last sentence. There may be Nobel laureates, even of Literature, who express themselves in relation to “crap” and “shit” but Golding is certainly not one of them.
Another popular meme relating to gender roles purports to come from an unnamed Home Economics or sex education textbook for girls, dating either from the United States in the 1950s or the United Kingdom in the 1960s. The shorter version reads as follows:
“When retiring to the bedroom, prepare yourself for bed as promptly as possible. Whilst feminine hygiene is of the utmost importance, your tired husband does not want to queue for the bathroom, as he would have to do for his train. But remember to look your best when going to bed. Try to achieve a look that is welcoming without being obvious. If you need to apply face-cream or hair-rollers wait until he is asleep as this can be shocking to a man last thing at night.
When it comes to the possibility of intimate relations with your husband it is important to remember your marriage vows and in particular your commitment to obey him. If he feels that he needs to sleep immediately then so be it. In all things be led by your husband's wishes; do not pressure him in any way to stimulate intimacy. Should your husband suggest congress then agree humbly all the while being mindful that a man's satisfaction is more important than a woman's. When he reaches his moment of fulfilment a small moan from yourself is encouraging to him and quite sufficient to indicate any enjoyment that you may have had.
Should your husband suggest any of the more unusual practices be obedient and uncomplaining but register any reluctance by remaining silent. It is likely that your husband will then fall promptly asleep so adjust your clothing, freshen up and apply your night-time face and hair care products. You may then set the alarm so that you can arise shortly before him in the morning. This will enable you to have his morning cup of tea ready when he awakes.”
The fact that neither the book nor the author is provided is suspicious but the absence of these facts makes it difficult definitively to identify this alleged quotation as fake. There are certainly plenty of examples of awful advice given to women in the past (such as Helen Andelin's 1965 'Fascinating Womanhood') but I wonder if such a reactionary document as the above would concede that women have sexual appetites ("do not pressure him in any way to stimulate intimacy") or take any pleasure in sex ("a small moan from yourself is ... quite sufficient to indicate any enjoyment that you may have had").
Sometimes the best-intentioned can misquote.
Like most people I found Emma Watson’s #HeForShe speech at UN headquarters on 20 September 2014 profoundly moving both for in the manner in which it was delivered and, more importantly, for what she was saying. Indeed, I would align myself with everything she said bar one sentence, which sticks in my craw.
The ‘offending’ sentence was as follows:
“English statesman Edmund Burke said: ‘All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.’ ”
This sentence is problematical in several respects.
Firstly, Burke was not English but Irish. No big deal some might say. I doubt, however, whether many Irish people would see it that way, though.
Secondly, the sentiment attributed to Burke may not actually have been said by him.
Thirdly - and this is where I really start riding my hobby horse – had he said something along those lines he would most definitely not have expressed himself in the manner ‘quoted’ by Emma Watson. The statement commonly attributed to Burke is in fact ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ Please note: ‘good men’ not ‘good men and women’.
‘So what?’, you may say - why not update quotations to take account of changing times and values?
My response to that is that quotation marks are sacred, or rather what lies within their bounds should be sacred, as they provide a guarantee that whatever resides between them is recorded absolutely verbatim.
It is thus never permissible, in my book, to misquote knowingly, even in a good cause.
Making Burke speak in a politically correct manner is historically incorrect.
Ironically Emma Watson did not need to present Burke anachronistically, as she is herself already as eloquent as anyone could be in advocating gender equality.
Moreover, if she wanted a pertinent quotation she could hardly have bettered Gloria Steinem when she stated that, “A feminist is anyone who recognises the equality and full humanity of women and men.”
Indeed, the advocates of gender equality have their own pioneering champions, like Steinem, who deserve to be celebrated, rather than decking out dead white males in false feminist colours.