Rediscovering Feminism

"The best, the most devoted, the most loyal of men is always ready," she said, "to suspect the woman who has given herself to him. He will insult her, if not by his actions, at least by his thoughts. In our society, man has assumed over us a right that is strictly material; so all of our fidelity, and often all of our love, is summarized for him by one fact. For us, who only command moral power, we place more weight on moral proofs than on appearances. Even when we're jealous, we're capable of denying the evidence of our eyes; and when you utter a vow, we abide by your word as though it were infallible. But is our word any less sacred? Why have you made your honor and ours so different? You would tremble with anger if a man told you that you were lying. And yet you live on distrust, and you surround us with precautions that prove you suspect us. For a man, who should be reassured forever by years of chastity and sincerity, just one unusual circumstance, one mysterious word, a gesture, a door open or shut, can destroy all his trust in an instant."

from the novel Horace by George Sand

What's brilliant about George Sand's feminism is she often wrote books from the point of view of men; in the case of Indiana, a man who actually had significant resentment towards women. So it's like of you were a chauvinist, you'd pick up this book that sounded cool that was by a guy named George. You'd start reading and... hey, he's insulting women! I'm a chauvinist; that's totally awesome.

And by the end of the book...

OMG OH NO I'M A FEMINIST HOW DID THAT HAPPEN WTF