Monologue

Oceana Monologue from The Naturewoman

From The Naturewoman by Upton Sinclair

female · defiant · 1:14 min

Is nothing! (LETITIA: That I am dependent upon him for support...) You have money of your own, Letitia. (LETITIA: Do you suppose I am thinking about money! I mean his protection.) A person who confesses to the need of protection has written himself down an inferior. (A pause.) You see, Letitia, times have changed; our ideas of marriage have charged. In the beginning a woman was a man's economic dependent; now that the man has become ashamed of that, he is made the woman's spiritual dependent. You play upon his sense of chivalry, his sympathy, his pity; and you prey upon him, you devour him alive. But the time has come when that must cease, Letitia ... man will not always be a domestic appendage! And you will simply have to face this new situation. Do you still possess your husband's love? Do you really love him? Nothing else will count... none of your "rights"... we are not afraid of man or devil.

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