Throughout many centuries women have been the great forgotten ones in history a .

Of course, that does not mean that they did not contribute to the advancement of society or that they did not have a rich psychological life. Below you can see a selection of women’s phrases in which you can sense their concerns, motivations and reflections.

Phrases of influential and thinking women

These women’s reflections and phrases are not listed in any specific order, and if you think there are other interesting quotes that could have been included, you can leave them in the comments section.

1. We cannot let the limited perceptions of others end up defining us (Virginia Satir)

This psychotherapist talks here about how we create self-image and self-concept.

2. If you want to travel far, there is no better ship than a book (Emily Dickinson)

As a poet who was Emily Dickinson, it is normal that she expressed this attachment to literature.

3. The best life is not the longest, but rather the one that is full of good deeds (Marie Curie)

A reflection by one of the most important scientists in history.

4. We are not born as a woman, but we become one (Simone de Beauvoir)

The philosopher Simone de Beauvoir focused her thoughts on the study of gender and feminism, and in this sentence one of her most important ideas is formulated: gender as something non-biological.

5. Those who do not move do not notice their chains (Rosa Luxemburgo)

This Marxist theorist expressed in this way an apparent paradox: the existence of oppressed people who are not aware of it.

6. Dance is a poem of which every movement is a word (Mata Hari)

This well-known dancer talks about the properties of dance.

7. I paint myself because I know myself best (Frida Kahlo)

One of this artist’s best known phrases.

8. Understanding is a two-way street (Eleanor Roosevelt)

A very graphic way of conceptualizing understanding as a two-way link.

9. Cannot shake hands with a clenched fist (Indira Gandhi)

A reflection impregnated with anti-war sentiment.

10. It would be good to be less curious about people and more curious about ideas (Marie Curie)

Another of Marie Curie’s phrases; it can be interpreted as a reflection of her analytical mentality.

11. Happiness in marriage is a matter of pure chance (Jane Austen)

Jane Austen was characterized by a sardonic and dispassionate way of seeing things, and here this characteristic can be intuited. This is one of the most remembered phrases from Pride and Prejudice .

12. Blindness separates us from things around us, but deafness separates us from people (Helen Keller)

A reflection on the deprivation of sensory stimuli.

13. If we want to be cautious, we should not take a high degree of self-confidence as a guarantee of something (Elizabeth Loftus)

This renowned psychologist talks about one of the conclusions she drew from her research.

14. Living is like going through a museum: it is then that you begin to understand what you have seen (Audrey Hepburn)

The phrases of influential women are not just about philosophers or scientists. In this one, Audrey Hepburn, an actress of blockbuster movies, offers this suggestion for reflection .

15. The most revolutionary thing a person can do is to always say out loud what is really happening (Rosa Luxemburg)

Another of Rosa Luxemburg’s quotes, this time on the right to express oneself.

16. The body is made to be seen, not to be covered (Marilyn Monroe)

Marilyn Monroe embodied the liberation of certain sexual taboos in relation to women.

17. We do not see things as they really are, but rather we see them as we are (Anais Nin)

For this writer, projection is a constant in our way of perceiving reality.

18. If you cannot give me poetry, can you give me poetic science? (Ada Lovelace)

Ada Lovelace’s passion for science, poetry and mathematics is captured here.

19. Beauty is how you feel inside, and it is reflected in your look (Sophia Loren)

A reflection on the beauty, self-esteem and public image we give.

20. Dancing: the greatest intelligence in the freest body (Isadora Duncan)

Poetic definition of the hand of one of the most important dancers.

22. If someone betrays you once it is his fault, but if he betrays you twice, then the fault is yours (Eleanor Roosevelt)

A phrase that is attached to a recommendation of caution.

23. Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t make that a secret (Mary Kay Ash)

A piece of advice aimed at making others happy.

24. The greatest danger in the future is apathy (Jane Goodall)

The way of conceiving the times that come from this primatologist is collected here.

25. Security is basically a superstition (Helen Keller)

For this thinker, security is an illusion that allows us to live with a certain order but does not allow us to see beyond certain mental frameworks.

26. In the dark, the things around us don’t seem more real than dreams (Murasaki Shikibu)

A reflection by one of the most important Japanese writers in history.

27. Freedom is always freedom for those who think differently (Rosa Luxemburgo)

A way of conceiving freedom by seeking it where its existence is tested.

28. Life would be so wonderful if we knew what to do with it. (Greta Garbo)

An existential reflection by Greta Garbo.

29. Interpretation is internal, but must be externalized (Sarah Bernhardt)

A sentence about the tasks of the actor and the actress when giving up their body to allow characters to emerge.

30. I can’t stop as long as there are lives to be saved (Edith Cavell)

Edith Cavell saved dozens of lives during the First World War, and in this sentence she expresses her strong motivation to help others .

31. All that matters are those friends you call at 4 a.m. (Marlene Dietrich)

It may seem a somewhat frivolous thought, but in reality it is a reflection on friendship that is totally valid.

33. Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all (Helen Keller)

An invitation to live life in a daring way.

34. Fury can’t solve any problem (Grace Kelly)

About the futility of anger (something many evolutionary psychologists would argue with, though).

35. Society only takes care of you as long as it is profitable (Simone de Beauvoir)

A cold way to see certain bonds of mutual aid that are created in society.

36. When we can’t dream anymore, we die (Emma Goldman)

The importance of the possibility of imagining a better future

37. Life is the process of becoming (Anaïs Nin)

Life understood as something that develops in time.

38. Sex: in America, an obsession, in other parts of the world, a fact (Marlene Dietrich)

There’s room for humour in this selection of women’s phrases too. Why not?

39. Independence Is Happiness (Susan B. Anthony)

Practically a slogan of life for its brevity and simplicity.

40. Dance is the movement of the universe concentrated in one person (Isadora Duncan)

Another reflection on the nature of dance.

41. The intellectual, the moral and the religious seem to be interrelated in a harmonious whole (Ada Lovelace)

Ada Lovelace’s interests went far beyond mathematics, and also extended to the philosophical and social.

42. It is always the simple that generates the wonderful (Amelia Barr)

A way of thinking about the beautiful as something that germinates in minimalism.

43. There is nothing more beautiful than laughter (Frida Kahlo)

A small sample of vitalism on the part of this artist.

44. Peace cannot be found by avoiding life (Virginia Woolf)

Life is a source of conflict that we have to know how to deal with in the best possible way.

45. If you follow all the rules you miss all the fun (Katharine Hepburn)

Fun is something worth keeping an eye on when it comes to dealing with rules, according to this actress.

46. There are no distances when you have a motive (Jane Austen)

Distance is also a relative element beyond Einstein’s theories.

47. Growing old is not for the weak (Bette Davies)

The aging process can be seen as part of personal evolution.

48. It is our decisions that show who we really are, rather than our abilities (J. K. Rowling)

One of the most important phrases of the author of youth literature so far in the 21st century.

49. My imagination makes me human and, makes me ignorant; it gives me a whole world, and makes me exile from it (Ursula K. Le Guin)

As a science-fiction writer, Ursula K. Le Guin feels both near and far from the worlds she imagined.

50. The issues of politics are too serious to be left to politicians (Hanna Arendt)

For this philosopher, politics is something that should be done on the street by ordinary people .

51. Love is the difficult discovery that there is something beyond oneself that is real (Iris Murdoch)

The affective ties that are established in love also represent a transcendental discovery that unites us with someone in a unique way.

52. A man’s fantasy is a woman’s best weapon (Sophia Loren)

A somewhat conflicting way of looking at the relationship between the sexes, but one that has been greatly exploited in the film world.

53. One never becomes better, but different and older, and that is always a pleasure (Gertrude Stein)

Growing up can be simply change, not progress, without drama.

54. It is harder to kill a ghost than a reality (Virginia Woolf)

A poetic way of looking at the personal dramas we face.

55. People looked at me like I was a mirror (Marilyn Monroe)

One of the phrases of a woman who became famous partly because of her image and yet felt alienated.

56. There is no worse agony than carrying with us a story that has not been told (Maya Angelou)

A sentence about the stories that deserve to be told.

57. A scientist believes in ideas, not people (Marie Curie)

Another sentence about Marie Curie’s analytical mentality , focused on demonstrating hypotheses in an empirical way.

58. Children should be educated about how to think, not what to think about (Margaret Mead)

This anthropologist differentiates between education on formal thought and the content of this thought.

59. Fate is a word we use to look back on choices with dramatic consequences (J. K. Rowling)

The concept of destiny can be seen as something that only serves to see past dramas with better eyes.

60. I don’t see the misery that there is but the beauty that remains (Anne Frank)

One of Anne Frank’s most memorable phrases for her positivity.

61. If you only have a smile, give it to someone you love (Maya Angelou)

Another invitation to share expressions of appreciation and love.

62. No charm can compare to the tenderness of the heart (Jane Austen)

Quote from one of the most important writers of the 18th century.

63. When one door of happiness closes, another one opens (Hellen Keller)

This is a phrase widely used as a source of optimism and motivation.

64. Few of us are what we seem (Agatha Christie)

A statement whose value lies, in part, in being supported by one of the references of the crime novel.

65. One never sees what has been done, but sees what remains to be done (Marie Curie)

The idea that we always see the possibilities and potentialities of the situations we live in, and not so much what we have to experience.

66. From the past we need to remember only the pleasant (Jane Austen)

The memory and its nooks and crannies.

67. Where there is no struggle there is no strength (Oprah Winfrey)

The effort of facing difficulties can be uplifting.

68. When large sums of money are at stake, it is best not to trust anyone (Agatha Christie)

Selfishness gains weight when the possibilities of concentrating many goods increase, according to this idea.

69. A Woman’s Worst Enemy is the Pulpit (Susan B. Anthony)

One of the most groundbreaking phrases of this American suffragette.

70. The first idea a child should learn is the difference between good and evil (Maria Montessori)

This idea is very applicable to teaching in schools, but also to parents’ tardiness.

71. We must tell our young women that their voices are important (Malala)

This Pakistani-born activist is fighting to make new generations of women aware of their legitimacy to act and make decisions just like men.

72. The eyes of the rest, our prisons; their thoughts, our cages (Virginia Woolf)

Social pressure can strongly condition our lives.

73. Virtue can only flourish among equals (Mary Wollstonecraft)

The best facets of the human being are only visible when there is no domination of one over the other.

74. We do not have a society if we destroy the environment (Margaret Mead)

We do not live in isolation from the rest of the planet, this is an extension of our existence.

75. What makes us human is the ability to ask questions (Jane Goodall)

Curiosity directs our intellect.

76. Each person should live her life as a model for others (Rosa Parks)

This reference point in the fight for equality defends the idea of inspiring others by doing good.

77. Adventure has value in itself (Amelia Earhart)

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic as an aviator. In this phrase she embodies her adventurous spirit.

78. The purest proof of discipline is its absence (Clara Barton)

A reflection on the temptation not to do the right thing when no one is looking.

79. The only thing that is better than singing is singing more (Ella Fitzgerald)

80. Love only dies when growth stops (Pearl S. Buck)

The end of that emotional bond comes when we no longer have motivation or references.

81. A boat in a port is safe, but that is not what a boat is built for (Grace Hopper)

This pioneer of programming languages talks about the need to get out of the comfort zone.

82. For a long time, society has placed obstacles in the way of women wanting to enter the sciences (Sally Ride)

This astronaut was the first American woman to explore outer space.

83. When men kill, our job as women is to fight for the preservation of life (Clara Zetkin)

War has been an exclusively male phenomenon for much of history,

84. Organized work is a necessary component of democracy (Dolores Huerta)

This activist for workers’ rights talks about the need to establish policies that generate real equality, not just theoretical equality.

85. Finding joy in your work is like discovering the fountain of youth (Pearl S. Buck)

Getting involved in stimulating work is like being a child again with a new toy.

86. If I can’t dance, your revolution doesn’t interest me (Emma Goldman)

This is a great phrase that has been used by revolutionaries to denote that social change must take place from the point of view of joviality and respect for women.

87. The prolonged slavery of women is the blackest page in the history of mankind (Elizabeth Cady Stanton)

A reflection on the dark past of many women.

88. Feminism is a courageous protest by an entire sex against the positive diminution of her personality (Clara Campoamor)

About the fight for real equality.

89. Love has been the opium of women, as religion has been that of the masses. While we loved, men ruled (Kate Millet)

About the idea of romantic love, and why it’s so pernicious.

90. The level of civilization attained by various human societies is in proportion to the independence enjoyed by women (Flora Tristan)

Two variables that necessarily correlate.