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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, 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. No matter how much
women prefer to lean, to be protected and
supported, nor how much men desire to have
them do so, they must make the voyage of life
alone, and for safety in an emergency they
must know something of the laws of navigation.
To guide our own craft, we must be captain,
pilot, engineer; with chart and compass to
stand at the wheel; to match the wind and
waves and know when to take in the sail, and to
read the signs in the firmament over all. It
matters not whether the solitary voyager is
man or woman. Nature having endowed them
equally, leaves them to their own skill and
judgment in the hour of danger, and, if not
equal to the occasion, alike they perish. To
appreciate the importance of fitting every
human soul for independent action, think for a
moment of the immeasurable solitude of self.
From: Solitude of Self, Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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